(Bloomberg) --

Novartis AG maintained its sales and profit forecast for the year, with key heart and psoriasis treatments expected to help the drugmaker weather turmoil from the coronavirus pandemic.

• Sales are expected to grow by a mid- to high-single-digit percentage, and earnings excluding some items will likely increase by a percentage in the high-single to low-double digits this year, the Swiss company said Tuesday.

Key Insights

• The eye drug Beovu is in the spotlight after a safety warning earlier this year raised concerns about the therapy’s future.
• Investors are keeping a close eye on potential disruption caused by the coronavirus. Novartis said it isn’t expected to interrupt the flow of medicines, but that clinical trials are affected as it becomes harder to enlist patients.
• Zolgensma, the company’s $2.1 million gene therapy that was approved in the U.S. last year, grew more slowly than expected in the first quarter.
• The company will likely face questions about the Sandoz generics business following the termination of a sale of some of the unit’s assets to Aurobindo.

Market Reaction

• The shares have dropped about 4.2% in Zurich this year, while the Bloomberg Europe 500 Pharmaceuticals Index has risen 3.8%.

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