Strong third quarter for Roche

Roche has posted strong sales growth in the first nine months of 2013. The company's Group sales increased by 6% to 34.9 billion Swiss francs, while its Pharmaceuticals segment saw a sales increase of 7% at 27.2 billion Swiss Francs.

This was largely attributed by the 13% growth in sales from Roche's HER2 breast cancer franchise, which includes Herceptin and also Perjeta and Kadcyla, following their recent launches.

Avastin also had a 13% sales increase this quarter due to recent approvals in ovarian cancer in Europe, colorectal cancer in the United States and Europe, and the first approval for newly diagnosed glioblastoma in Japan.

The division also benefited from a 33% increase in sales for rheumatoid arthritis treatment, Actemra / RoActemra.

The main regional growth drivers were the United States, where sales grew 12%, and in the emerging markets, where sales grew by 10% (in particular China, which grew 23%).

"Demand for our products has remained strong in both divisions. We will meet our full-year targets. I am very encouraged by the uptake of our new cancer medicines, Perjeta and Kadcyla, which significantly improve the survival rates of patients with a very aggressive form of breast cancer. In diagnostics, we benefited from strong growth in Professional Diagnostics, and the launch of the cobas 8100 will further strengthen our market leadership."

Roche CEO Severin Schwan.

For the fifth year running, Roche was also named as the Group Leader in sustainability within the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences Industry in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI).

Based on the operational performance in the first nine months of 2013, Roche has confirmed its full-year outlook.