Roche confirms outlook despite Vabysmo miss, currency headwinds

(Corrects China diagnostic sales decline to 15% from 24% in last bullet point)

By Marleen Kaesebier

BASEL, July 23 (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Roche confirmed its 2026 outlook on Thursday after first-half sales fell slightly in Swiss franc terms, dragged down by a stronger domestic currency and weaker-than-expected U.S. sales of its blockbuster eye drug Vabysmo.

Investors are focused on the second half of the year, when Roche is expected to expand launches of breast cancer drug Itovebi and other recently approved medicines. Roche is preparing for its next major commercial launch — giredestrant for breast cancer in the U.S. by the end of the year — and will also report data for one of its experimental obesity drugs.

• Roche shares were up 3.3% at 1030 GMT.

• Group sales for the first half were down 2% year-on-year at 30.36 billion Swiss francs ($37.34 billion), in line with analyst expectations of some 30.31 billion francs.

• Sales rose 6% at constant exchange rates

• Operating profit rose 10% at constant exchange rates to 11.86 billion Swiss francs, beating analyst expectations, but fell 1% in local currency terms due to Swiss franc appreciation.

• Chief Executive Thomas Schinecker: "Should be a zero effect in terms of currencies in the second half of the year."

• Roche confirmed outlook for growth in adjusted earnings per share in a high-single-digit range and sales growth in a mid-single-digit percentage range.

• Schinecker said in an interview Roche expects most future deal opportunities to come from the U.S. and China.

• Basel-based company's top-selling drugs — multiple sclerosis drug Ocrevus and haemophilia shot Hemlibra — grew 7% and 11% respectively from the same period last year.

• Sales of blockbuster eye drug Vabysmo missed analyst expectations on weaker U.S. demand, competition.

• China pricing reforms hit prices for diagnostic products, leading Roche's diagnostic sales there to fall 15% at constant exchange rates. The company said the impact should ease later in the year.

($1 = 0.8146 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Danny Callaghan, Marleen Kaesebier and Maggie Fick; Editing by David Goodman, Tom Hogue, Tomasz Janowski and Joe Bavier)