The new muscle disease treatment Zolgensma, known as the world’s most expensive medicine, has emerged as one of the main growth products for Novartis.
The Swiss company said on Tuesday as it presented its third-quarter earnings in Basel.
The one-dose gene therapy for children with spinal muscular atrophy was approved by U.S. regulators in May and carries a price tag of 2.1 million dollars.
Zolgensma delivered 160 million dollars in revenues between July and September, Novartis said, revealing sales figures for the product for the first time.
Half of the Zolgensma patients switched from a rival medication made by the U.S. company Biogen, according to Novartis.
The Swiss pharmaceutical giant listed Zolgensma as one of its three most important growth drivers, along with psoriasis and arthritis medication Cosentyx, and Entresto, which is used to treat chronic heart conditions.
Novartis’ total sales rose 10 per cent to 12.2 billion dollars in the third quarter, compared to the same period in 2018, while the net profit rose 8 per cent to reach 2 billion dollars.
While Zolgensma has been successful in the U.S., it has yet to win regulatory approval in the European Union and Japan.
Novartis chief executive Vas Narasimhan denied that this has anything to do with recently revealed research data manipulation for Zolgensma, but he said that there are still open questions regarding the production of this medication.
