Swiss franc strength puts Roche's results in a poor light
Roche chief executive Thomas Schinecker.
Roche has started its financial reporting for 2026 with a 5% fall in first-quarter revenues, hit by the appreciation of the Swiss franc as a safe-haven currency amid geopolitical unrest, but said that does not reflect the underlying strength of the business.
In its update, the company pointed to 6% growth at constant exchange rates to CHF 14.77 billion – and 9% against the dollar, which has weakened over concerns about President Trump's economic policies – as evidence that it remains on track to deliver a target of 'mid-single-digit' sales growth this year.
The pharma division – which accounted for CHF 11.47 billion of revenues – slipped 4% year-on-year as reported but grew 7% if currency factors were stripped out.
One reason for Roche's exposure to currency factors is its $50 billion capital investment programme in the US, to ward off tariffs from the Trump administration for a few years, and it will be interesting to see if that emerges as a drag factor on the financial performance of other Europe-based pharma groups in this results season.
Once again, the main contributor to growth was multiple sclerosis blockbuster Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), which grew 6% to CHF 1.69 billion, once-monthly haemophilia A therapy Hemlibra (emicizumab), which was up 13% to CHF 1.19 billion, and ophthalmology therapy Vabysmo (faricimab), up by the same margin to CHF 1.02 billion.
Fast-maturing product Xolair (omalizumab) – now on the market for more than 20 years – capitalised on a recent extension of its indications into the treatment of food allergies with a 26% spike in sales to CHF 708 million.
Chief executive Thomas Schinecker said the results signalled a "strong start" to the year and pointed to good news from the group's pipeline, including positive clinical data readouts in multiple sclerosis, obesity, and severe autoimmune diseases.
Recent clinical wins include phase 3 readouts for oral BTK inhibitor fenebrutinib in relapsing and progressive forms of MS, setting up regulatory filings this year, as well as for CD20-targeting antibody Gazyva (obinutuzumab) in primary membranous nephropathy and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and phase 2 results with anti-amyloid weight-loss candidate petrelintide, licensed from Zealand Pharma.
Schinecker also highlighted some significant phase 3 trials due to generate results this year, including PI3K inhibitor Itovebi (inavolisib) as a frontline therapy for in metastatic breast cancer, KRAS G12C inhibitor divarasib in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), Lunsumio (epcoritamab) as a second-line therapy for follicular lymphoma, and Factor B-targeting sefaxersen in autoimmune kidney disease IgA nephropathy (IgAN).
"Our diversified portfolio across both divisions, together with continued pipeline progress, positions us well for sustained future growth in a dynamic geopolitical environment," said Schinecker, who is predicting that up to 19 brand new medicines could be launched by Roche between now and 2030.
