By Marleen Kaesebier
ZURICH, Aug 5 (Reuters) – Swiss generic drug maker Sandoz reported a 9% jump in second-quarter net sales on Wednesday, slightly above analyst expectations, as its biosimilars unit reaped the benefits of patent expirations.
Net sales amounted to $3.01 billion, compared with the $2.99 billion analysts expected in a Vara-compiled consensus.
Biosimilar net sales rose 22% at constant currencies after an 18% jump in the first quarter, a trend the company said at the time should continue throughout the year.
Sandoz is increasingly pushing into biosimilars, which are biological drugs based on reference medicines for which patents have expired and market exclusivity has been lost.
These are usually sold at much cheaper prices as they do not factor in significant research and development costs.
Sandoz is benefiting from what innovator drugmakers like former parent Novartis consider to be their biggest patent cliffs in decades. In stark contrast, Sandoz’s management has deemed it the “golden decade” for biosimilars.
In North America particularly, biosimilars grew 47% at constant currencies in the first half of the year, thanks to launches of bone disease drug Wyost and osteoporosis drug Jubbonti.
GLP-1 MARKET
One of the key markets opening up to Sandoz is GLP-1, or diabetes and obesity drugs.
Last week, the Swiss maker of semaglutide received its first approval in Brazil for its multi-dose disposable pen.
In the United States, considered the biggest opportunity for the market, the Food and Drug Administration in June agreed to review two generic tirzepatide GLP-1s that, if approved, would rival obesity drugs made by Eli Lilly.
The company, however, said it expects no material contribution from any potential generic semaglutide launch in 2026.
Overall, the group expects pricing to decline by a mid-single-digit percentage in 2026, compared with a low-to-mid single-digit percentage decline seen previously, partly reflecting short-term market dynamics in Germany and strong biosimilar sales in North America.
Sandoz confirmed its full-year guidance for net sales and core EBITDA.
(Reporting by Marleen Kaesebier; Editing by Friederike Heine and Subhranshu Sahu)
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