Roche ‘on track’ with first quarter financial results

Roche has published its financial results for the first quarter of the 2011 fiscal year, stating that its performance is in line with expectations.

The group's sales for the three months ending on March 31st 2011 came to 11.1 billion Swiss francs (7.6 billion pounds), which were stable compared to the first quarter of 2010 in local currency terms.

Its sales performance excluding Tamiflu showed an improvement on last year, with growth driven primarily by the strong performance of drugs such as Lucentis, Herceptin, MabThera and RoActemra.

Other positive trends include the encouraging data published during the quarter from six key clinical trials, which will support the launch of new products or additional indications for existing drugs in the coming months.

Severin Schwan, chief executive officer of Roche, said: "Based on our first-quarter sales, we are on track to achieve our targets for the full year."

Last month, the company published new clinical trial data for its drug Lucentis, demonstrating its efficacy in treating diabetic macular edema.