Roche reports strong growth in 2013 to date

Roche has published its financial report for the first nine months of 2013, during which it maintained its recent strong growth to reach a sales total of 34.9 billion Swiss francs (23.89 billion pounds).

This represented a year-on-year increase of six percent, with its third-quarter growth rate coming to eight percent, thanks in large part to the continuing success of its core pharmaceuticals business.

Its HER2 breast cancer franchise and products such as Avastin and Actemra/RoActemra were strong performers for Roche, while the US and emerging markets were the main regional growth drivers.

Meanwhile, positive regulatory decisions in the US and Europe have strengthened the outlook for the company's HER2 breast cancer franchise and its diagnostic sales also continued to improve, allowing Roche to confirm its 2013 financial outlook.

Roche chief executive officer Severin Schwan said: "Demand for our products has remained strong in both divisions. We will meet our full-year targets."

This comes after the firm recently announced plans to expand its global manufacturing network to increase production capabilities for biologic medicines over the next five years.