Novartis misses Q1 profit estimates on steep generic erosion

[BASEL] Swiss drugmaker Novartis reported first-quarter core operating profit below market expectations on Tuesday (Apr 28), as generic competition for its top-selling heart drug Entresto weighed on sales.

Quarterly group operating income, adjusted for special items, declined 12 per cent to US$4.9 billion, below average analyst expectations of about US$5.1 billion cited by investment-analysis platform Visible Alpha.

Novartis is navigating what CEO Vas Narasimhan has described as the drugmaker’s largest patent expiry in the last two decades, including for Entresto, which made up 14 per cent of its total net sales in 2025.

Entresto’s Q1 sales dropped 42 per cent, after its US patents expired and competing generics were launched.

It faces patent expiries in Europe, starting from November.

Blood-disorder drug Promacta and leukaemia treatment Tasigna also face competition from generics, increasing the pressure on Novartis to deliver sales growth from newer drugs.

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The Swiss group has said it expects sales to decline by US$4 billion in 2026 due to competition from generics for Entresto and the other two drugs.

The Basel-based company also confirmed its full-year forecast of a low single-digit percentage drop in core operating income, excluding currency swings. REUTERS