Sales Advance 8% In 1996 At Novartis

Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis, which has been formed through themerger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz (Marketletters passim), achieved sales of 36.2 billion Swiss francs ($25.3 billion) in 1996, an increase of 8%. Of the total, life sciences represented 27.6 billion francs, up 8%. Within this sector, health care sales were 16.3 billion francs, up 8%, agribusiness turnover grew 8% to 7.6 billion francs, and nutrition achieved revenues of 3.7 billion francs, up 8%. Ciba Specialty Chemicals achieved sales growth of 5% in 1996 to 6.6 billion francs, and divested operations amounted to sales of just over 2 billion francs.

In the health care sector, turnover of pharmaceuticals for the year was 12.2 billion francs, an increase of 9% or 7% in local currencies. Growth was noted to be strong in the USA, Germany, Spain and Brazil, while growth in Japan was affected by government-decreed price cuts.

Sales of Novartis' best-selling product Sandimmun/Neoral (ciclosporin) advanced 10%, while sales of Lamisil (terbinafine) grew 50%, driven by a successful launch of the tablet form in the USA. The firm said that, as expected, competition from generics had an appreciable impact on US sales of the antirheumatic Voltaren (diclofenac), sales of which declined 8%, and the antihypertensive Lopresor (metoprolol), turnover of which declined 27%.