The Swiss pharma giant plans to invest more in research and development this year, Roche’s new CEO Thomas Schinecker has said. He also rules out any job cuts in 2023.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Tages-Anzeiger/Reuters/sb
Español
es
Roche se centrará en I+D y no recortará empleos en 2023, según su nuevo CEO
“We are increasing our spending in the low single-digit percentage range to just under CHF15 billion ($16 billion),” he told the Tamedia media group in an interviewExternal link published on Wednesday.
There will also “certainly not” be any job cuts in 2023, Schinecker added.
“We will continue to strengthen ourselves in the digital area. And in research, we are always looking for the best talent worldwide,” he said.
Despite lower-than-expected income from Covid-related sales and patent protection expiring on three cancer therapies, there will be no cost-cutting programmes, he said. In February Roche warned profits will decline in 2023 as falling demand for its Covid-19 therapy and diagnostics kits will knock sales by over $5 billion.
“Profit will decline at the same rate as turnover, which means we can maintain our profit margin,” said Schinecker, who was previously Roche’s head of diagnostics.
He defended the 42.1% profit margin of Roche’s pharma division, arguing that the company bears high risks.
“Only one in ten medicines reaches the patient; the others fail in research. The development costs for a new drug amount to an industry average of CHF2.6 billion. Two-thirds of the costs are incurred before the clinical phase,” he declared.
Schinecker, who takes over at Roche on Wednesday, says the company wants to focus on laboratory informatics.
“We are working on algorithms that combine different data from patients and give the doctor in the hospital or surgery help with diagnosis and therapy via artificial intelligence and machine learning,” he said.
Last year, Roche group revenue edged 1% higher to CHF63.3 billion, the company reported, slightly beating market expectations of CHF63.2 billion, while core operating profit gained 1% to CHF22.2 billion, just below the average analyst estimate of CHF22.4 billion.
Popular Stories
More
Multinational companies
Azeri fossil-fuel cash cow brings controversy to Switzerland
Swiss-EU negotiations: Cassis to meet Sefcovic in Bern
This content was published on
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis will meet the Vice-President of the EU Commission, Maros Sefcovic, in Bern on Wednesday.
Heavy snowfall in Switzerland causes traffic chaos and accidents
This content was published on
The heavy snowfall late on Thursday and during the night into Friday led to traffic chaos and many accidents in many regions of Switzerland.
Chimpanzee behaviours passed down through generations
This content was published on
Some of the complex behaviours of chimpanzees have been passed down and refined over generations. These include the combination of several tools for foraging.
More than 600,000 rounds of Swiss sniper ammunition reach Ukraine
This content was published on
Sniper ammunition from Swiss P Defence reached Ukraine via a Polish company in July 2023, reported SRF Investigativ on Thursday, citing official information.
Switzerland launches national digital inclusion alliance
This content was published on
The Swiss government launched the Swiss Digital Inclusion Alliance on Thursday with the goal of giving as many people as possible access to digital services.
Swiss court recognises obesity as a disability under certain conditions
This content was published on
People suffering from obesity are now entitled to social benefits under certain conditions, following a ruling by the Federal Court.
Environment minister outlines Swiss efforts to limit global warming
This content was published on
Switzerland will do its part to achieve the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celcius, said Environment Minister Albert Rösti, who's attending COP29 in Baku.
This content was published on
Switzerland remains by a large margin the European champion of train travel, both in terms of the number of journeys per person and the number of kilometres travelled. Switzerland remains by a large margin the European champion of train travel, both in terms of the number of journeys per person and the number of kilometres travelled. Switzerland remains by a large margin the European champion of train travel, both in terms of the number of journeys per person and the number of kilometres travelled.
Three Swiss firms ranked among top 100 family businesses
This content was published on
Swiss firms Roche, Kühne + Nagel and Richemont are among the world's top 100 family businesses, according to a new study.
The Swiss start-up upending how the world pays for medicine
This content was published on
Basel start-up Lyfegen wants patients and insurers to stop overpaying for medicine. Its CEO believes the company has the technology to make it happen.
Swiss pharma giants fall in access to medicine ranking
This content was published on
Both Roche and Novartis have slipped in a ranking of the top 20 pharma companies’ efforts to expand access to medicines in poor countries.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.