Cosentyx Carries Novartis Sales But Kymriah Manufacturing Gives Cause For Concern

Any lingering fears that growth of Novartis AG's Cosentyx (secukinumab) for psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) may be slowing have been blown out of the water with second-quarter sales of the blockbuster beating consensus estimates by 4% to leap 40% to $701m.

The Swiss major noted that the interleukin-17A inhibitor delivered strong volume growth across all indications in the US ($409m, +33% at constant currencies) and the rest of the world ($292m, +53%). The figures are in stark contrast to Q1 sales which were well down on the fourth quarter of 2017 - $580m versus $615m - which Novartis said at the time was due to destocking at the specialty pharmacy level and rebating to improve access to earlier lines of therapy in the US