PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 336 - 27 Oct 2001

Pharmaceutical sales driveNovartis’ impressive sales increase

A 15% rise in turnover for the pharmaceutical divisionof Novartis has been credited with driving thecompany’s 11% rise in sales to the end of Q3 this year,reports Marketletter.

Sales for the Swiss pharmaceutical giant reachedSwF23.7 billion,* of which the pharmaceuticals divisionaccounted for nearly SwF15 billion. Sales of theantihypertensive agents valsartan [‘Diovan’] and thefixed combination valsartan/hydrochlorothiazide [‘Co-Diovan’] rose by 56% to SwF1.33 million; a 7% increasein sales of the company’s HMG CoA reductase inhibitorproduct fluvastatin [‘Lescol’] was also reported. Thecompany attributes prescriber interest in fluvastatin’ssafety profile in the wake of Bayer’s withdrawal ofcerivastatin** for the rise in fluvastatin sales.* Swiss francs** see PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 333: 11, 6 Oct 2001;800817670

Double-digit turnover growth for Novartis. Marketletter 28: 7, 15 Oct2001 800876385

1

PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 27 Oct 2001 No. 3361173-5503/10/0336-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved