Novartis achieves strong growth in 2011

Novartis has published its financial report for the full 2011 fiscal year, during which it experienced strong underlying business growth.

The pharmaceutical company generated net sales of $58.6 billion (37.62 billion pounds) for the 12 months, up by 16 percent year over year, while core operating income and earnings per share totals also saw increases.

Growth was attributed to the recent rejuvenation of its portfolio, with newly launched products accounting for 25 percent of sales during 2011, while significant benefits were also extracted from the acquisition and integration of Alcon.

Novartis expects its performance in 2012 to be roughly in line with last year's, with the diversification of its portfolio expected to offset the patent expiration of a number of key products.

Joseph Jimenez, chief executive officer of Novartis, said: "We maintained our innovation momentum this year, achieving 15 key approvals and expanding our already robust pipeline."

This comes in the same week that Europe's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use recommended two Novartis therapies for approval.