FRANKFURT, Feb 4 (Reuters) – Swiss drugmaker Novartis forecast a decline in 2026 operating profit in the low single-digit percentage range on Wednesday, held back by competition from cheaper copies of established products such as heart drug Entresto.
It also reported a 1% gain in fourth-quarter operating profit, which is adjusted for special items, on higher sales of breast cancer drug Kisqali, multiple sclerosis drug Kesimpta and psoriasis drug Cosentyx, among other drugs.
The profit figure came in at $4.92 billion, in line with an analyst consensus of about $4.9 billion, compiled by Visible Alpha.
Novartis is leaning on fast-growing cancer drugs Kisqali and Scemblix and its $30 billion acquisition and licensing push last year to address the impending patent cliff for some of its blockbuster drugs, including Entresto for heart failure, allergy shot Xolair and Cosentyx.
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt and Bhanvi Satija in London; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Linda Pasquini)
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