By Ludwig Burger
FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Swiss drugmaker Novartis raised its 2024 earnings guidance for the third time on Tuesday, driven by wider use of its prescription drugs such as psoriasis and arthritis drug Cosentyx.
In a statement on Tuesday, Novartis said it expects full-year core operating income, adjusted for one-off items, to grow by a “high teens” percentage, compared with a previous guidance of “mid- to high teens” percentage.
The group, which has cut jobs and spun off generic drugs business Sandoz to focus on new drug development, also posted better-than-expected third-quarter earnings, helped by revenue gains from anti-inflammation drug Cosentyx, among other factors.
Quarterly adjusted core operating income gained 17% to $5.15 billion, beating an average analyst estimate of over $4.8 billion.
Quarterly Cosentyx sales gained 27% to $1.69 billion, helped by its recent approval to treat hidradenitis suppurativa, a painful acne-like skin condition.
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger, editing by Kirsti Knolle)
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