Roche's 2020 annual report is released, sales of innovative drugs surge

Roche Group (Roche Group) sales in 2020 increased by 1% (CER) to 58.3 billion Swiss francs (a decrease of 5% in Swiss francs). IFRS net income increased by 17% (CER), core earnings per share increased by 4% (CER), and the appreciation of the Swiss franc also had an adverse effect on performance.

The 2% drop in drug sales (CER) in 2020 is mainly due to the impact of biosimilars, especially in the United States, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that has led to a reduction in hospitalization and outpatient services. In Tecentriq (Atilizumab), Hemlibra (Iimelizumab), Ocrevus (Humanized monoclonal antibody), Perjeta (Pertuzumab) and Kadcyla (Enmetrozumab) Under the leadership of, the growth of new drugs and additional sales partially compensated for these declines.

Sales of the diagnostics division were 13.8 billion Swiss francs, an increase of 14%. In 2020, sales of various COVID-19 related tests will be 2.6 billion Swiss francs (CER). Excluding these factors, during the various restrictions in 2020, the number of routine tests for the entire portfolio has declined. The main growth area is molecular diagnostics, which has increased by 90% driven by the cobas SARS-CoV-2 PCR test. Sales of centralized and point-of-care solutions fell by 1%. This was due to a decrease in routine testing during the COVID-19 pandemic, partially offset by sales of rapid SARS-CoV-2 antigen testing. Due to the overall continued contraction of the blood glucose monitoring market and the impact of COVID-19, diabetes care sales fell by 5%.

New products are the main growth driver, among which Tecentriq, Hemlibra, Ocrevus, Perjeta and Kadcyla have seen rapid sales growth. Among them, Tecentriq's sales increased by 55% to 2.7 billion Swiss francs, with growth in all regions. Hemlibra sales reached 2.2 billion Swiss francs; Ocrevus's sales increased by 24% to 4.3 billion Swiss francs. Perjeta's sales were 3.9 billion Swiss francs, an increase of 18%, mainly due to the growth of the Chinese market. Kadcyla's sales increased by 34%, mainly due to increased demand in the United States and Europe. The usage rate of Hemlibra and Ocrevus is very high, especially in France and Germany.

China contributed sales of 3.143 billion Swiss francs, an increase of 8%; India sales of 100 million Swiss francs, an increase of 82%.