Roche Confirms Outlook Despite Vabysmo Miss
Roche, the Swiss pharmaceutical company, confirmed its outlook for 2026 despite missing analyst expectations on sales of its eye drug Vabysmo in the first half. The company's sales fell 2% year-over-year to 30.36 billion Swiss francs ($37.34 billion), in line with analyst forecasts.
The decline was largely due to a stronger domestic currency and weaker-than-expected U.S. sales of Vabysmo. However, Roche's operating profit rose 10% at constant exchange rates to 11.86 billion Swiss francs, beating analyst expectations. The company's top-selling drugs, Ocrevus and Hemlibra, grew 7% and 11%, respectively.
Roche's CEO Thomas Schinecker stated that there should be no currency impact in the second half of the year. The company is set to expand launches of its breast cancer drug Itovebi and other recently approved medicines, which could drive growth. Roche will also report data on one of its experimental obesity drugs.