Novartis profit up as world flocks to buy medicine

ZURICH, Switzerland – Swiss pharma giant Novartis on Tuesday, April 28, reported higher profits for the 1st quarter as customers rushing to buy treatments during the coronavirus outbreak boosted the bottom line.

Net profit for the 1st quarter rose 16% to $2.1 billion while sales increased by 11%.

“COVID-19 did result in increased forward purchasing by customers, including at the patient level, as some patients filled prescriptions to cover a longer period of time,” Novartis said.

The pharma giant said the pandemic had had “no material impact on our underlying business, financial condition, cash collections, or liquidity.”

Novartis added it feared no supply chain disruptions for most of its portfolio “at this time,” and said it expected to be able to satisfy demand from continued forward purchases of drugs due to the pandemic.

Consequently, it maintained its outlook for the full year 2020, in which it expects core operating income to rise by a high single or low double-digit percentage.

Last week, Novartis announced it would sponsor a clinical trial in the United States using hydroxychloroquine to treat patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

Novartis said it had reached an agreement with the US Food and Drug Administration to go ahead with a phase III clinical trial with around 440 patients to evaluate whether the drug is efficient in treating the coronavirus. – Rappler.com