Pairing New Cancer Drugs With Older Ones Bolsters Roche Profit

  • Schwan says combination strategy is way of future in cancer
  • Swiss drugmaker to raise dividend, sees sales growing

Roche CEO Confident Business Will Succeed Despite Turmoil

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Roche Holding AG said combining tumor medicines for extra potency, a strategy that helped spur first-half earnings by reviving sales of older drugs like Herceptin, is the way of the future in cancer.

The drugmaker’s core earnings, which exclude some items, rose 7 percent to 7.74 Swiss francs per share from 7.22 francs a year earlier, the Basel, Switzerland-based company said in a statementBloomberg Terminal Thursday. That exceeded the 7.65-franc estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.