Roche reports Q1 group sales CHF 15.4B vs. CHF 14.4B last year

Group sales grew by 6% at constant exchange rates; 7% in CHF, driven by high demand for newer medicines and diagnostic solutions. Roche (RHHBY) CEO Thomas Schinecker: “We had a good start to the year with Group sales increasing by 6% at constant exchange rates and we achieved a number of important milestones. Based on recent data, two potential new therapies – our investigational Brainshuttle bispecific antibody to treat Alzheimer’s and our investigational next-generation haemophilia A medicine – will move into phase III. Together with Zealand Pharma, we are developing amylin as a potential new stand-alone therapy for weight loss and as a fixed-dose combination with our incretin CT-388. In Diagnostics, we unveiled our breakthrough ‘sequencing by expansion’ technology, offering unparalleled speed, throughput and flexibility combined with high accuracy. We are expanding our already strong US footprint – with currently over 25,000 employees, 15 R&D and 13 manufacturing sites – by investing $50N, an important step to continue to meet patient needs in the US with highly innovative medicines and diagnostics. We are confident we will continue our positive momentum and confirm our full-year outlook.”