Novartis Profit Rises 7% on Lack of Generic Diovan
This article is for subscribers only.
Novartis AG’s first-quarter profit rose 7 percent as a generic challenger to the company’s second-best-selling medicine failed to enter the market.
Earnings excluding some costs increased to $3.25 billion, the Basel, Switzerland-based company said in a statement today. Analysts predicted profit of $3.12 billion, the average of seven estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Symonds, 54, is resigning and will be replaced by Harry Kirsch, 48, the finance head of Novartis’s drug unit, the company said.