The Roche Group posted sales of 33.9 billion Swiss francs in the first nine months of 2007, an increase of 12 per cent in both local currencies and Swiss francs (16 per cent in US dollars) over the same period last year. Sales by the Pharmaceuticals Division grew 14 per cent in local currencies (13 per cent in Swiss francs), with Roche Pharma advancing 10 per cent, Genentech 24 per cent and Chugai seven per cent. The Diagnostics Division recorded a sales increase of five per cent in local currencies (6 per cent in Swiss francs, 10 per cent in US dollars).
Commenting on the Group's sales performance in the first nine months of 2007, Roche Chairman and CEO Franz B Humer said, 'With its strong nine-month sales growth of 12 per cent, the Roche Group continues to outperform the market. Revenue growth in the second half of last year, as we all know, was also driven by a peak in stockpiling orders for Tamiflu for use in the event of a pandemic. With those orders now filled, I am all the more pleased to report that our Pharmaceuticals Division continued its double-digit growth, with 12 per cent in the third quarter, fuelled by a broad and young portfolio of innovative medicines for cancer, hepatitis and osteoporosis. Particularly important for our future growth is the progress being made in our broad programme of clinical trials: several important projects are now entering or are ready to enter phase III.'
For full-year 2007 Roche anticipates continued strong growth and reaffirms its sales and Core Earnings per Share outlook: Roche expects the Group's and the Pharmaceuticals Division's sales to grow at double-digit rates in local currencies. In both the Pharmaceuticals and the Diagnostics Division Roche anticipates continued above-market sales growth. The target is for Core Earnings per Share to grow faster than Group sales.
In the first nine months of 2007 the Pharmaceuticals Division continued its strong double-digit growth, with sales advancing 14 per cent in local currencies (13 per cent in Swiss francs; 17 per cent in US dollars). This is more than twice the global market average. Sales advanced well ahead of the market in both North America (16 per cent vs 6 per cent) and Europe (12 per cent vs 6.5 per cent), and in Japan the return to above-market growth (7 per cent vs 3.5 per cent) was maintained. Growth in all regions was primarily driven by strong demand for the division's oncology products, which now account for half of pharmaceutical sales. After peak pandemic stockpiling sales of 1.5 billion Swiss francs in the second half of 2006, uptake of Tamiflu by governments and corporations has slowed, as forecast. Excluding pandemic sales, the division's growth rate in the third quarter was 12 per cent.
Combined sales of the division's oncology products increased 21 per cent in the first nine months. This strong growth further reinforces Roche's position as the world's leading provider of cancer medicines.
As of 30 September 2007 the Pharmaceuticals Division's R&D pipeline (phase I to III/registration) included 58 new molecular entities (NMEs) and 56 additional indications (AIs). During the third quarter of 2007 the following major pipeline changes occurred: two projects entered phase II; one phase II project was discontinued; five projects entered phase III, and two projects received regulatory approval; no phase III projects were discontinued.
The development programme for Avastin continues to make steady progress. Additional important phase III trials have started, studying use of the product in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer and metastatic gastric (stomach) cancer, as well as combined MabThera and Avastin in aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Phase III studies with pertuzumab in metastatic breast cancer are expected to start before the end of 2007.
Roche Diagnostics posted sales of 6.8 billion Swiss francs in the first nine months of 2007, an increase of 5 per cent in local currencies (6 per cent in Swiss francs, 10 per cent in US dollars) over the year-earlier period. Professional Diagnostics reported solid single-digit growth, and Applied Diagnostics double-digit growth. The Diabetes Care business increased its sales four per cent. Molecular Diagnostics' nine-month sales declined 3 per cent overall but grew three per cent excluding industrial reagents. All regions contributed to growth, with divisional sales showing single-digit gains in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, Africa), North America and Japan and double-digit growth in Asia-Pacific and Latin America. The acquisition of US-based NimbleGen Systems, Inc., a leading supplier of high-density microarrays, was completed in August.
Roche Diabetes Care's nine-month sales grew 4 per cent in the face of increasing reimbursement pressures in the United Kingdom and Germany, and slower market growth in the United States and other key markets. These factors affected both volume and price growth. The Accu-Chek Aviva, Accu-Chek Performa and Accu-Chek Compact blood glucose monitors were the main growth drivers.
The Accu-Chek Spirit insulin pump delivered strong double-digit growth. The most recent upgrade of the Accu-Chek Compact Plus, an integrated monitoring system combining test strips and lancing capabilities in a single device, premiered in September at this year's annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes and will be rolled out to markets starting in the fourth quarter of this year. Roche remains the clear leader in the growing integrated glucose monitor segment.
The acquisition in August of NimbleGen Systems, Inc., a pioneer in DNA microarrays, has brought Roche a step closer to its strategic goal of providing complete workflow solutions for the genomics and post-genomics life science markets. This followed the acquisition of 454 Life Sciences in May a deal that reinforces Roche's position as a major player in the genome sequencing market.