Roche hit by strong Swiss franc

pharmafile | February 10, 2009 | News story | Sales and Marketing |  Roche 

Roche delivered solid performance in 2008, but was unable to shake off the negative effect of a strong Swiss franc.

This was largely responsible for falling company sales, down 1% to $39 billion, and declining net income, which fell by 5% to $9.3bn.

However, sales in local currencies grew by 6%, with the company's cancer portfolio performing particularly strongly.

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Roche, renowned for its presence in oncology, said sales in the therapy area grew 15% due to the strong performance of drugs like MabThera, Herceptin and Avastin.

Chief executive Severin Schwan said: "Roche continued the positive trend of recent years. Once more sales by both the Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics Divisions grew considerably faster than the market.

"In these times of economic upheaval it is more important than ever that we adhere rigorously to our strategy. We will continue to focus on our core pharmaceuticals and diagnostics businesses. Our aim remains to offer patients ever better treatments that are tailored to their condition."

Roche has consistently outperformed average market growth, and the company remains confident it can do the same again in the year ahead.

The biologic nature of many of its products means they have less exposure to generic competition than rivals, because it is difficult for 'biosimilar' medicines to make their way onto the market.

Presenting the figures Schwan said little about Genentech, but if its takeover bid is successful this would significantly boost the company's efforts to maintain a strong and innovative pipeline for the future.

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