Pharmaceuticals

First quarter of 2026

Sales

Sales at Pharmaceuticals came in at €4,249 million in the first quarter of 2026, and were therefore in line with the prior year on a currency- and portfolio-adjusted basis (–0.5%). We again registered significant gains for Nubeqa™ and Kerendia™, and our Radiology business also continued to expand. By contrast, we recorded substantial declines for Xarelto™ due to patent expirations, as well as lower Eylea™ sales.

• Sales of our cancer drug Nubeqa™ continued to rise significantly, with gains in all regions. The product therefore maintained its growth momentum, especially in the United States and Europe, with strong increases in volumes. Compared with the prior year, however, growth was slightly held back by price effects relating to the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States.

• Sales of our ophthalmology drug Eylea™ decreased substantially due to competitive pressure from generics, especially in Canada and Europe. This factor mainly weighed on prices, which were primarily down in Europe. However, the launch of Eylea™ 8 mg offering extended treatment intervals provided a significant boost, accounting for around 46% of overall Eylea™ sales.

• Our Radiology business, which includes products such as Ultravist™ and CT Fluid Delivery, continued to post strong gains. Business benefited from higher volumes, while prices remained stable.

• As expected, sales of our oral anticoagulant Xarelto™ decreased markedly as a result of competitive pressure from generics, especially in Europe. License revenues – recognized as sales – in the United States, where Xarelto™ is marketed by a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, decreased against the prior-year quarter.

• Sales of our long-term contraceptives in the Mirena™ product family declined against a strong prior-year quarter, with business mainly down in the United States.

• We again registered considerable gains for Kerendia™, our product for the treatment of chronic kidney disease associated with type 2 diabetes, as well as heart failure. Growth was primarily fueled by a substantial rise in volumes in the United States and China.

• Our pulmonary hypertension treatment Adempas™ posted strong sales growth, especially in the United States. As in the past, sales reflected the proportionate recognition of the upfront and milestone payments resulting from the sGC collaboration with Merck & Co., United States.

• Sales of our Kovaltry™/Jivi™ blood-clotting medicines decreased markedly as a result of competitive pressure, with business down in a number of markets, including China.

• Sales of Aspirin™ Cardio, our product for the secondary prevention of heart attacks, and Stivarga™, our cancer drug, also declined in China, with business down substantially as a result of the country’s volume-based procurement policy. By contrast, sales of Adalat™, our product for the treatment of hypertension and coronary heart disease, were up in China thanks primarily to a significant increase in volumes.

Earnings

EBITDA before special items at Pharmaceuticals decreased by 7.5% to €1,242 million in the first quarter of 2026 (Q1 2025: €1,342 million). The decline in earnings was largely due to an increase in selling expenses that primarily related to the marketing of Lynkuet™ (elinzanetant), Nubeqa™ and Kerendia™, as well as a negative currency effect of €77 million (Q1 2025: €48 million). We also made higher investments in our R&D activities. In addition, earnings were diminished by price declines, which were mainly attributable to patent expirations and were only partially offset by higher volumes. By contrast, earnings benefited from an increase in income from the sale of noncore businesses as well as lower inventory write-offs. The EBITDA margin before special items declined by 0.3 percentage points to 29.2%.

EBIT came in at €1,231 million in the first quarter of 2026 (Q1 2025: €989 million) after special gains of €278 million (Q1 2025: net special charges of €114 million) that mainly related to divestments.