Roche's 1st-half 2006 sales hit 19.8B SwFr, with 19% growth of its pharma division

Swiss drug major Roche says that its sales for the first six months of 2006 were 19.8 billion Swiss francs ($15.9 billion), up 16% in local currencies, and ahead of Lehman Brothers' prediction of 19.6 billion francs. The firm added that it had achieved organic sales growth of 3.2 billion francs in the period, with a 19% turnover increase of its pharmaceuticals division leading the expansion.

Demand for anticancer drugs fuels growth

Roche went on to cite several of its leading oncology products as key to its success during the first six months. The firm's breast cancer treatment Herceptin (trastuzumab) produced revenues of 952.0 million francs in the second quarter of the year, due to its increased use in early-stage HER2 positive breast cancer. In addition, sales of Avastin (bevacizumab), which is indicated for use in colorectal, non-small cell lung and breast cancer therapy, were up 119% to 713.0 million francs in the reported period, which the company said was due to strong demand for the product in the USA and Europe. It went on to say that, along with affiliates Genentech and Chugai, it is in the process of filing the drug with regulatory authorities around the world for other oncology indications.