Novartis cancels forecast for high sales of leading drugs

LONDON — Novartis raised its profit forecast for the third time this year on Tuesday, thanks to strong sales of its top drugs.

The company said it expects full-year operating profit to grow by a percentage point in the mid-teens, compared with the mid- and high-teens previously forecast.

Separately, Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan said it would be “several more years” before the company could submit to regulators an experimental drug to treat a rare bone marrow cancer that was the centerpiece of the nearly $3 billion deal. Novartis had originally hoped to file for approval of the drug this year, but ongoing questions about the data profile have yet to be resolved.

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