NVS Novartis AG

    By Donato Paolo Mancini 
 

Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG (NOVN.EB) said on Thursday that its first-quarter net profit rose, boosted by drugs Entresto and Cosentyx.

Novartis said net income rose to $2.03 billion from $1.67 billion, with net sales increasing to $12.7 billion from $11.5 billion.

Sales for Entresto, a heart failure drug, more than doubled, driven by increased adoption by physicians in the U.S. and elsewhere, Novartis said. Other growth drivers were Promacta, used against low platelet counts, and Cosentyx, a psoriasis drug. Novartis said its oncology division returned to growth, despite price erosion and generics competition against its former blockbuster blood cancer drug Glivec.

Overnight, Novartis said separately that its Sandoz division signed an agreement with Pear Therapeutics, a prescription digital therapeutics company, to develop and commercialize therapeutics for patients with substance and opioid abuse disorders in the U.S.

The company maintained its outlook for 2018, with group net sales expected to grow at a low to mid-single digit rate. Novartis expects group core operating income to grow by a mid to high-single digit rate.

Novartis also said it appointed John Tsai as chief medical officer and head of global drug development. Dr. Tsai will join Novartis on May 1 and become a member of the executive committee.

Write to Donato Paolo Mancini at donatopaolo.mancini@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 19, 2018 02:34 ET (06:34 GMT)

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