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Novartis posts record profit for 2003
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BASEL, Switzerland — Novartis ended its 2003 fiscal year with sales up 19% from the previous year to $24.9 billion, the company announced in an earnings release. The company’s core pharmaceutical business increased 18% to $16 billion, the release said.
Growth in the United States and Japan contributed to Novartis being the fastest growing among the 10 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, the release noted.
Visudyne (verteporfin for injection), for photodynamic therapy of age-related macular degeneration, remains Novartis’ largest ophthalmology drug, with sales of $357 million for the year, an increase of 24% from the previous year.
During the fourth quarter, both Visudyne and the Zeiss laser used with the photodynamic therapy procedure received Japanese approval, the company announced.
CIBA Vision, the company’s contact lens division, increased sales 15% to $1.31 billion in 2003. U.S. growth increased 4%, and rest of the world sales increased 23%.
According to a Reuters report, Novartis increased its holdings in Roche to 33.3% but will not increase its stake, although a merger between the two “would make sense,” Daniel Vasella, Novartis chairman and chief executive officer, told CNBC Europe in an interview. Roche is predominantly controlled by the founder’s heirs and has repeatedly refuted merger offers.