Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche said on April 16 sales had soared 7% to 11.6 billion francs (US$ 10.13 billion) in the first quarter of 2009, outstripping the global market.
Sales at its pharmaceutical division grew 8% to 9.21 billion francs, driven by its oncology, inflammation and ophthalmology portfolios.
Sales at its diagnostics division also rose 3% to 2.36 billion francs.
"Sales in both divisions continued to grow significantly faster than their respective markets. We are therefore confident that we can achieve our full-year targets, said Roche chief executive Severin Schwan.
He added that the group would update its full-year outlook when it reported its first-half results in July to include the impact of the group's buyout of U.S. biotechnology unit Genentech. Roche last month agreed to pay $46.8 billion to take full control of Genentech.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009
