ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Novartis <NOVN.S> on Tuesday boosted its full-year targets, with sales now expected to grow at a high single-digit percentage rate and core operating income now seen growing at a mid- to high-teen rate.
Third-quarter core net income rose 17% at constant currencies to $3.2 billion. Sales were $12.2 billion, compared to the $11.7 billion average in a Refinitiv poll.
Zolgensma, the Swiss drugmaker's $2.1 million-per-patient gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy, posted $160 million in sales. The therapy's regulatory review in Europe and Japan was delayed, with an anticipated decision in the first quarter of 2020 in Europe and an expected decision in Japan in the first half of 2020.
(Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Michael Shields)
