Roche Group has posted sales growth of 7 per cent during the first nine months period ended September 2012 to Swiss Francs (CHF) 33,694 million as against CHF 31,492 million in the corresponding period of last year on account of cancer medicines and clinical lab business. The company confirmed full-year outlook pharmaceutical division posted sales growth of 7.4 per cent to 26 billion CHF and diagnostics division marked growth of 5.7 per cent to 7,496 million CHF.

Commenting on the Group's 2012 performance to date, Roche CEO Severin Schwan said, “With the strong growth in the third quarter we remain well on track to meet our full-year targets. Our pipeline has continued to deliver with 11 positive results out of 14 late-stage studies so far this year. Roche has strengthened in particular its HER2 franchise with the successful launch of the breast cancer medicine Perjeta in the US and Switzerland as well as the filing of antibody-drug conjugate T-DM1 in both the US and Europe.”

Sales of Herceptin, which is used to treat HER2-positive breast and stomach cancers, rose by 12 per cent to 4.4 billion CHF. This was largely due to an improvement in the quality of HER2 testing in the US and Western Europe, as well as programmes to help improve access to the drug in emerging markets. Japanese and US sales were driven by continued uptake for stomach cancer.

Avastin, which is approved to treat a number of different cancers, performed strongly helped by its successful launch in ovarian cancer in Western Europe. Avastin sales rose by 6 per cent to 4.3 billion CHF. During September it received a positive recommendation from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) for Avastin in women with recurrent, platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer, an important step towards expanding its use to fight ovarian cancer in Europe.

The Group's pipeline delivered positive results in 11 out of 14 late-stage studies so far this year, further highlighting the Group's potential for future growth.

The sales of diagnostics division rose by 4 per cent to7.5 billion CHF due to the business with clinical laboratories, especially professional diagnostics and tissue diagnostics, which each grew at roughly twice their respective global market rates. This more than offset a decline in the diabetes care and applied science businesses, which are facing challenging market environment. Diabetes care is affected by further reimbursement cuts and intensified pressure on prices. Both businesses are in the process of restructuring to secure long-term profitability and drive future growth.