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Zacks Investment Research <\/p>\nSwiss pharma giant Roche Holding AG’s RHHBY first-quarter 2026 results were affected by currency headwinds.<\/p>\n
Sales totaled $18.8 billion, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $18.43 billion.<\/p>\n
However, the top line was down 5% year over year to CHF 14.7 billion,<\/p>\n
The strengthening of the Swiss franc against most currencies, notably the U.S. dollar, had an adverse impact on results reported in Swiss francs relative to constant exchange rates (CER).<\/p>\n
At CER, sales were up 6%, driven by strong demand for both drugs and diagnostics.<\/p>\n
The company reports under two divisions \u2014 Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. All growth rates mentioned below are on a year-over-year basis and at CER.<\/p>\n
Sales in the Pharmaceuticals Division grew 7% to CHF 11.5 billion, driven by strong growth in demand for its key drugs \u2014 Phesgo (breast cancer), Xolair (food allergies), Ocrevus (multiple sclerosis or MS), Hemlibra (hemophilia A) and Vabysmo (severe eye diseases).<\/p>\n
The Diagnostics division\u2019s sales totaled CHF 3.2 billion, up 3% as demand for pathology and molecular solutions continued to more than offset the impact of healthcare pricing reforms in China.<\/p>\n
Roche\u2019s shares have lost 0.7% year to date compared with the industry\u2019s decline of 5.5%.<\/p>\n
Zacks Investment Research <\/p>\n
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research<\/p>\n
The top five growth drivers \u2014 Phesgo, Xolair, Hemlibra, Vabysmo and Ocrevus \u2014 generated total sales of CHF 5.3 billion, reflecting an increase of 14% at CER, or 2% in CHF, compared to the year-ago quarter.<\/p>\n
The increase in the sales of these drugs offset the decline in sales of Avastin (various types of cancer), Herceptin (breast and gastric cancer), MabThera\/Rituxan (blood cancer, rheumatoid arthritis), Lucentis (severe eye diseases) and Actemra\/RoActemra (rheumatoid arthritis) due to loss of exclusivity.<\/p>\n
MS Ocrevus generated sales of CHF 1.7 billion, up 6%. This growth can be attributed to strong demand for subcutaneous formulation.<\/p>\n
Sales of hemophilia A drug Hemlibra surged 13% year over year to CHF 1.2 billion on continued global growth.<\/p>\n
Vabysmo sales grew 13% to CHF 1 billion on strong demand in all key regions. The U.S. market also saw a recovery in growth.<\/p>\n
Immuno-oncology drug Tecentriq\u2019s (for advanced lung cancer, urothelial cancer and breast cancer) sales were up 4% to CHF 811 million, driven by growth in new indications.<\/p>\n
Xolair sales surged 26% to CHF 708 million. Sales were fueled by strong uptake in food allergy. However, a biosimilar launch is expected in the second half of 2026.<\/p>\n
Breast cancer drug Phesgo\u2019s (a fixed-dose combination of Perjeta and Herceptin for subcutaneous injection) sales surged 27% year over year to CHF 686 million due to strong conversion rates.<\/p>\n
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Perjeta\u2019s sales were down 11% year over year to CHF 672 million.<\/p>\n
Actemra\/RoActemra\u2019s (rheumatoid arthritis and COVID-19) sales declined 4% year over year to CHF 534 million.<\/p>\n
Evrysdi generated sales of CHF 464 million, up 19% driven by expanding strong position in SMA.<\/p>\n
Breast cancer drug Kadcyla generated sales of CHF 439 million, down 4%.<\/p>\n
Sales of Polivy surged 26% to CHF 407 million, driven by strong uptake in first line diffuse large B-Cell lymphoma.<\/p>\n
Sales of the lung cancer drug Alecensa rose 12% to CHF 401 million.<\/p>\n
Sales of Rituxan\/MabThera were up 10% to CHF 292 million.<\/p>\n
Activase\/TNKase sales totaled CHF 255 million, down 2%.<\/p>\n
Blood cancer drug Gazyva\/Gazyvaro\u2019s sales totaled CHF 247 million, up 10% year over year.<\/p>\n
Herceptin sales were down 12% on a year-over-year basis to CHF 234 million due to biosimilar competition in various countries.<\/p>\n
Sales of Avastin, approved for multiple oncology indications, were down 9% to CHF 224 million due to biosimilar competition.<\/p>\n
Roche expects total sales to grow in the mid-single-digit range (at CER) in 2026. Core EPS is expected to grow in the high single-digit range. Roche expects to increase its dividend in Swiss francs further.<\/p>\n
The FDA accepted Roche\u2019s application for Gazyva\/Gazyvaro for the treatment of the most common form of lupus.<\/p>\n
The regulatory body also accepted the company\u2019s new drug application for giredestrant in ESR1-mutated, ER positive advanced breast cancer, with a target action date of Dec. 18, 2026.<\/p>\n
The phase III persevERA study on giredestrant in ER-positive advanced breast cancer did not meet the primary objective of a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival, but a numerical improvement was observed.<\/p>\n
Roche also reported encouraging phase II data for petrelintide, an amylin analogue targeting overweight and obesity.<\/p>\n
The drug delivered up to 10.7% mean weight loss at week 42 compared with 1.7% for placebo, while maintaining placebo-like tolerability. At the highest effective dose, no vomiting cases were reported and no patients discontinued treatment due to gastrointestinal side effects.<\/p>\n
These results support advancing petrelintide into further development for chronic weight management, both as a standalone therapy and as a potential combination partner, given its favorable tolerability profile.<\/p>\n
Roche also announced positive phase II results for petrelintide, an amylin analogue developed for people living with overweight and obesity.<\/p>\n
Petrelintide achieved up to 10.7% mean body weight reduction at week 42 versus 1.7% with placebo while demonstrating placebo like tolerability. At the maximally effective dose, there were no cases of vomiting and no treatment discontinuations due to gastrointestinal adverse events. The data support further development of petrelintide in chronic weight management as monotherapy and its tolerability profile also confirms its value as a combination therapy.<\/p>\n
Roche\u2019s performance in the first quarter was weighed down by unfavorable foreign-exchange movements, as weakness in the U.S. dollar adversely impacted international sales.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, the company\u2019s underlying operational performance remained solid. Strong growth from key products helped offset declining revenues from legacy drugs.<\/p>\n
MS drug Ocrevus and ophthalmology drug Vabysmo continued their stellar performances. Growth in hemophilia treatment Hemlibra and breast cancer drug Phesgo also boosted RHHBY\u2019s top line.<\/p>\n
Roche has a strong and diversified pipeline spanning multiple therapeutic modalities. A tentative approval of breast cancer candidate giredestrant could serve as a meaningful catalyst for the stock.<\/p>\n
While Roche is making efforts to further diversify its broad portfolio, the company remains a late entrant into the highly competitive obesity market, which is currently dominated by other large-cap pharma players, such as Eli Lilly LLY and Novo Nordisk NVO.<\/p>\n
Eli Lilly currently leads the obesity market with its tirzepatide-based dual GLP-1\/GIP receptor agonists, Mounjaro and Zepbound.<\/p>\n
Arch rival Novo Nordisk commands a strong position with its semaglutide-based GLP-1 therapies, Ozempic and Wegovy, used in type II diabetes and obesity.<\/p>\n
Both LLY and NVO generate a major chunk of their total revenues from their respective cardiometabolic drugs.<\/p>\n
Roche currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked biotech company is ADMA Biologics ADMA, which currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today\u2019s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.<\/p>\n
Over the past 60 days, estimates for ADMA Biologics\u2019 2026 EPS have increased from 85 cents to 93 cents. ADMA shares have plummeted 40% year to date.<\/p>\n
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report<\/a><\/p>\n Roche Holding AG (RHHBY) : Free Stock Analysis Report<\/a><\/p>\n Novo Nordisk A\/S (NVO) : Free Stock Analysis Report<\/a><\/p>\n Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) : Free Stock Analysis Report<\/a><\/p>\n ADMA Biologics Inc (ADMA) : Free Stock Analysis Report<\/a><\/p>\n This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).<\/a><\/p>\n