Novartis boosts mid-term sales guidance

Novartis boosted its mid-term guidance on Thursday, on the back of upcoming drug launches and "strong" growth momentum across existing products.

In a statement released ahead of its investor day, the Swiss pharmaceuticals firm increased its forecast for compound annual growth rate to 6% in 2023 to 2028, from 5% previously.

The firm said the improved guidance was driven by "strong momentum of in-market growth drivers and upcoming launches, most of which have expected US exclusivity in the 2030s or beyond".

Between 2024 and 2029, CAGR is forecast to be 5%.

Vas Narasimhan, chief executive, said: "Novartis has completed its transformation into a pure-play innovative medicines company, with deep expertise and capabilities across our core therapeutic areas and technology platforms.

"Longer term, we’ve identified more than 30 assets in the pipeline with significant potential to rejuvenate our portfolio and support mid-single-digit growth post 2029.

"We remain confident in our focused strategy and ability to deliver sustainable value creation for shareholders."

Novartis has refocused on specific diseases and innovative technologies in recent years, including spinning off generics arm Sandoz in 2023 and cutting jobs.

Sandoz now trades as a standalone business on the Swiss stock market, with a market valuation of around £16bn.

As at 1330 GMT, Novartis’s shares were largely unchanged.