Sharon: Good afternoon and welcome to the Novartis Q2 2026 results release conference call and live webcast. Please note that during the presentation, all participants will be in a listen-only mode and the conference is being recorded. After the presentation, there'll be an opportunity to ask questions by pressing star 1 and 1 at any time during the conference. Please limit yourself to one question and return to the queue for any follow-up. A recording of the conference call, including the Q&A session, will be available on our website shortly after the call ends. With that, I would like to hand over to Mr. Nigel Trotman, Head Business Planning and Analysis and Digital Finance. Please go ahead, sir.
Nigel Trotman: Thank you, Sharon. Good morning and good afternoon and welcome everyone to our Q2 2026 conference call. The information presented today contains forward-looking statements, that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. These may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. For description of some of these factors, please refer to the company's Form 20F and its most recent quarterly results on Form 6K that respectively were filed with and furnished to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Before we get started, and as a reminder, please kindly limit yourselves to one question at a time and we'll cycle through the queue as needed. And with that, I'll hand over to Vaz.
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: Thank you, Nigel. Thanks everyone for joining today's conference call. Moving to slide four, as you saw in the results released earlier today, Novartis delivered strong performance across our priority brands and launches while advancing the pipeline, allowing us to return to growth in the second quarter. The business grew 1% in constant currencies in USD and we had flat core operating income at $5.9 billion. Mukul will go through the numbers in more detail later on in the call. But we're reaffirming our full year guidance for 2026. We also had some important pipeline highlights, which I'll talk about more during the course of the conference call, including updated Qiskali OS data, the Dell Brax biomarker data in FSHD, as well as some other regulatory milestones we were able to deliver over the course of the quarter. Now moving to slide five. Our growth drivers continued a strong trajectory in quarter two. They were up 36% in constant currencies. Some of the highlights include strong performance from Cascali, Cosimta, Semblix. Solid performance from Pluvicto and strong performance as well from Lectio. So overall taken together, these growth drivers are performing strongly. We believe that gives us momentum going into the second quarter, second half of the year as we now move beyond the Entrusto patent expiry and set us up well to deliver on our midterm growth guidance. Now moving to slide six. Kaskaly was up 43% in constant currencies on the quarter. We outpaced the CDK 4.6 market. We had strong performance in the U.S. and outside the U.S. In the U.S., we were up 39%, reaching over a billion dollars in sales for the first time. We continued our metastatic red express cancer leadership. with an increasing share in first line. And we also sustained our early breast cancer NBRX and TRX leadership with 58% of new patients now from our exclusive N0 and N1 nodal populations. We also continue to grow our total prescriber base up 16% and we see future growth continuing to be driven by these exclusive Kaskali early breast cancer segments. Outside of the U.S., we were up 49% with continued metastatic leadership. Our growth was accelerating in our EBC launches. We're now approved in 76 countries and reimbursed in 42. And as you can see in the chart in a case study in Germany, we've reached 79% EBC NBRX share. We're having similar performance in other key markets. Overall, we're pleased with the trajectory for Cascalli and remain confident in our $10 billion peak sales goals. Moving to slide seven, we're announcing today also updated six-year follow-up data demonstrating that Qiskali showed clinically meaningful OS in that broadest at-risk EBC population. That data will be presented at an upcoming Congress. This is the six-year pre-specified landmark data for IDFS as well as for OS. The IDFF benefit continues over time and continues to strengthen the case for use in the broadest at-risk EBC population. Safety remained consistent with the known profile of Cascali. We believe this data underscores the value of dual inhibition with Cascali and endocrine therapies across all subgroups. So we'll look forward to providing the full details of this data, as I mentioned, in an upcoming medical congress. Moving to slide eight, Kesimpta had another strong quarter, up 32%, continuing to increase its share across our key markets. In the US, we were up 32% in quarter two, increasing our TRX share in both B-cell and MS markets. Importantly, we're growing our NBRX share ahead of our competitors in the first line and first switch segments, which are our target segments for this medicine. Outside of the U.S., also very good performance. We're seeing strong growth in Europe as well as sustained NBRX growth in our top international markets. We see a continued opportunity in these international markets given that two-thirds of patients remain treated with older therapies, not on B-cell therapies. This is a clear opportunity for expansion over time. We also continue to progress our next generation evidence and continued lifecycle management for Kesimpta. Our ongoing phase three with a once every two months dose Kesimpta for maintenance dosing is on track for a 2027 readout. So moving to slide nine, Pluvicto grew 43%, and this is driven primarily by our PSMA4 population and the pre-taxane MCRPC. We also see now acceleration outside of the US. In the US, pre-taxane is now driving over 70% of new patients. We continue to focus on use after the first ARPI. This is our largest segment. And we believe we now will have the opportunity to drive further growth given that the NCCN guidelines have been updated to remove routine use of a second ARPI in this setting. We continue to expand our sites, over 880 sites now providing PluVecto. And a lot of our focus now is getting additional depth in those sites, especially as we prepare now for the HSPC launch. Outside of the U.S., strong growth, 83% growth in new patients with accelerating adoption in Europe and launch momentum in Japan and China. The number of sites now that are providing RLT outside of the U.S. is over 650. This sets us up well as well for our future RLT pipeline where we're excited to continue to progress beyond Fluvicto and Lutathera, hopefully into additional cancer types in the coming years. The next wave of growth for Plovicto will be the expected approval in quarter three in HSPC. This will increase the eligible patient pool by 75%, give us a strong foundation for further growth. Two thirds of the patients in the PSMA edition population are with healthcare providers that currently use Plovicto today. So we think we have, or with established referral patterns, we think of a strong base for rapid adoption. and then we continue to progress the pipeline. We presented results for our Ractinium PSMA and MCRPC. This medicine is now being studied in the post-pluvicto setting, in the post-chemo setting and then as well in the first line MCRPC setting in combination with ARPI. So an opportunity here to lifecycle manage pluvicto for the longer term. Moving to slide 10, Lectio had a strong quarter growing 59% driven by strong demand we saw across the globe. In the U.S., we were up 55% in quarter two. We outpaced the advanced lipid lowering market. This was driven by monthly TRX growth of 49% demonstrating Lectio's The differentiated profile, strong persistency, the demand is being driven with increasing depth in the priority health systems that we're targeting. The most important segment for us remains the Medicare Part B segment, where we see 23.3% share, that's up 3.6% year to date. And we see an opportunity for a continued expansion. I think even with orals launching, our opportunity remains for driving strong growth in the segment that wants infrequently administered physician administered medicines for light lipid lowering in the United States. And we see this as an attractive and growing segment that supports our peak sales potential in the US and beyond. Outside of the U.S., NRDL inclusion is unlocking significant demand. We saw that in quarter one and continues in quarter two. Our market share has doubled now versus the pre-NRDL share we were previously seeing. We also see sustained growth in Europe and Japan. So overall pleased with our performance. We keep generating additional data for Letheo. Three world studies demonstrated that Incluster and Letheo improves adherence and persistence compared to other advanced lipid lowering therapies. and then we also have the V-Challenge head-to-head study of Inclisarin versus Memphidoic Acid which will prevent N-ESC. And lastly, we're on track as well for our two outcome studies to read out in 2027 for Lectio. Moving to slide 11, Semblix had a very strong quarter, 89% constant currency growth driven by both U.S. and ex-U.S. performance. In the U.S., we had 93% growth in the quarter. This is driven by sustained leadership across all lines, but importantly, we now expect to reach a first-line NBRX leadership share in the second half of the year. You can see steady improvements in that first-line NBRX share. Outside of the U.S., we're primarily still driven by the third line and beyond performance with 75% NBRX share across our key markets. But importantly, for future growth, we're seeing early line adoption now starting to pick up. We are now approved in 65 countries outside of the U.S. In Japan, we've already reached first line NBRX leadership, as you can see in the lower chart. In Germany, our early NBRX first line share is already up to 15%. So we're very excited for the trajectory of Stumblix and to continue to be a growth driver long into the future. Now with Cosentix we had a solid quarter 10% constant currency growth in part driven by some one-timers with still strong underlying growth and when you look at in the US we were up 16% you can see that in NHS we're steady in our NBRX share in the high 40s and we expect that to continue. We see steady demand growth in NHS and IV. Underlying growth in the US is around the mid single digits as we've guided to in the past and outside of the US continued solid growth. In Europe, we do see additional challenges in China with more competition, but we're able to manage that to maintain the overall global performance of the brand. And then we're excited by the phase three replenish PMR polymyalgia rheumatica data, which we recently published and presented at UR. It showed very strong data with sustained remission at 52 weeks that was twice as high in patients treated with Cosentix versus placebo. So we're anticipating FDA approval for that indication in the second half and remain on track for the $8 billion peak sales guidance that we've previously provided. Now moving to slide 13, Rapsido continues its strong launch trajectory with phase three Sindhu data now available to support our broader potential in urticaria. Starting with the CSU launch, we see continued solid US uptake, over 4,000 prescribers, over 10,000 patients treated. 60% of those patients are treated in the first line setting. We see steady expansion in our patient access. We have two of the three major PBMs now covering remibrutinib, rupseto, with PA the label. And in the second half, we expect steady expansion in that access with an effective bridge and sample program in place. We don't expect an inflection per se. We think this will be steady expansion. We want to ensure that we're disciplined in how we approach getting reimbursement given the multiple indications we hope to secure for remibrutinib over time. Outside of the U.S., we see good traction in China. Launches are ongoing across Europe and the Middle East, and we'll see further expansion in the second half post the EMEA, Japan, and Swiss approvals. Now, importantly, in chronic inducible urticaria, we presented our REMIND data supporting remirutinib as the potential as the first targeted therapy for chronic inducible urticaria. We had early and broad efficacy. with onset as early as week two in the two additional largest subtypes, consistent 12-week responses versus placebo. So we're on track for the FDA approval in SD, which is the most common Sindhu subtype, two-thirds of Sindhu patients. and then we'll have global filings across all three subtypes later this year. Just as a reminder, we estimate in the US there's about 100,000 Sindhu patients that are uncontrolled with antihistamines with no other treatment options. So this is a significant expansion in the population that can be helped by Rapsido. Now turning to slide 14, we also presented some updated data on Yonalimab showing the favorable SI benefits of the medicine and longer-term follow-up. And we remain on track for a US launch in Sjogren's disease in the second half. So you can see on the left side of this chart, in our pooled Neptunus data, you can see the consistent benefits in SDI statistically significant versus the placebo arm across both studies when pooled, demonstrating the benefits we see with the medicine. And then as well, we presented 108-week long-term extension data which showed that we can maintain the benefits of unalimab over time. And it also was supported by clinically meaningful improvements for the placebo crossover group when crossing over onto the active arm. Also throughout all of these long-term follow-ups, we see a favorable safety profile, no increase in adverse events. So this supports Yenelam's multi blockbuster potential. We're on track for the ITP first line readout in the second half of 2026, the SLE and lupus nephritis phase three readouts in 2027, and the systemic sclerosis phase two readout as well in 2027. So turning to slide 15, I want to provide an update on two of the acquired programs from Avidity. First with the DELZOTA, we achieved our first FDA submission for the therapeutic use of an antibody oligo-conjugate. That FDA submission is for accelerated approval in the DMD44, saxon 44, skipping using dystrophin as a surrogate biomarker. We've previously received FDA breakthrough therapy designation for this. The submission package is based on the outstanding data that we had in the Explore 44 study as well as long-term follow-up. And we expect the first launch here in the first half of 27 with the ongoing phase three studies ongoing. We have multiple follow-on programs now targeting additional exons that we'll be bringing forward as well. So we're quite excited to leverage this technology to take on DMD across multiple subtypes. And then with respect to the Delbrax data, we read out in the quarter as well that the Phase 1-2 study at the target dose that we are taking into Phase 3 studies met its primary and key secondary biomarker endpoints. So as a reminder, this is a study that looked at KHDC1L and creatine kinase reductions in the plasma. KHDC1L is a protein that's downstream and believed to be regulated by Dux4, Dux4 being the Thank you for joining us today. and ongoing work we're currently conducting to hopefully correlate the biomarkers to Dux4 as well as clinical improvements in these patients. We plan to engage FDA and other regulatory authorities in the coming months and then we'll ultimately provide an update if those regulatory authorities support our ability to file this medicine based on this data. Now moving to slide 16. So we're on track for a busy second half. We already had four readouts in the first half. In the second half, we expect with Pella Carson, Remy Brudnib, and Del Disserand readouts in the coming months. And then before the end of the year, readouts for Yanalimab, Repsido, and HS, as well as additional readouts for Phase II programs, QCZ484, as well as VHB937 in ALS. So exciting, I think, second half coming up. Solid first half of the year and looking forward to continued progress in the months ahead. So with that, I'll hand it over to Mukul.
Mukul: Thank you very much, Vas. And good morning, good afternoon, everyone on the call. I will now share more details on the financials for the second quarter. And as a reminder, my comments as always refer to growth rates in constant currencies, unless otherwise noted. Turning to slide 18. So in the second quarter, net sales grew 1% to $14.4 billion, while core operating income was flat at $5.9 billion. This is as our sales growth drivers and continued productivity offset the impact of the significant generic erosion that we saw in the first half of this year. The strong performance of priority brands supported a return to net sales growth in quarter two faster than we initially expected. The second quarter core operating income margin was at 41.2% of net sales. This was a decline of 70 basis points versus previous year, mainly due to the incremental avidity cost with a lower gross margin being offset by productivity gains. It's worth noting that Q2 is generally a stronger margin quarter when we look at the phasing across the whole year. Free cash flow for the second quarter was at $5.6 billion, which is in line with expectations. Worth to note that Q2 results were also positively impacted by some one-time phasing items, which we'll reverse in the second half. Together, these items positively impacted net sales by approximately one percentage point and core operating income by about five percentage points. And then for the first half of the year, net sales declined 2%, core operating income declined 7%, and the core operating margin declined 2.3 percentage points to 39.4%. Free cash flow for the first half of the year stood at $8.9 billion. Turning to slide 19. We remain committed to our shareholder friendly capital allocation strategy that has served us well as a company, balancing discipline, growth investments in the business with meaningful capital distribution. In Q2, we continued to execute multiple Bolton, M&A, and BD transactions, including the completion of the Picovation and Xcelogy acquisitions. At the same time, we continued to invest in our internal R&D pipeline. On capital distribution during the first half of this year, we paid out $9.1 billion in dividend. and repurchase $2.1 billion of shares under the current up to $10 billion share buyback program. There is still $5.6 billion to be executed in this program and we target to complete the program by end of 2027 as previously indicated. Slide 20, please. With this, we are reaffirming our full year 2026 guidance We continue to expect net sales to grow low single digit and core operating income to decline low single digit for the full year. For the full year 2026, we also continue to expect core net financial results to be around $1.7 billion and core tax rate to be around 16.5%, both in line with our guidance from beginning of the year. Moving to slide 21. As I shared previously, H1 net sales declined 2% with a strong momentum of growth drivers delivering performance at the upper end of sales guidance from the start of the year. Turning to H2, we continue to expect net sales to grow mid single digit as we move beyond the impact of US generic erosion. However, it's worth pointing out that there will be a notable difference in the sales growth We expect H2 core operating income to grow mid to high single digit with continued investment in our growth drivers as well as our R&D pipeline. Slide 22. Finally, If exchange rates remain at mid-July levels, we expect a positive 1 percentage point impact on full-year net sales and a positive 1 percentage point impact on core operating income. As a reminder, we publish updated FX estimates monthly on our website. That concludes my remarks and I will hand it back to Vas.
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: Terrific. Thanks, Bakul. So in closing, we delivered our first half performance at the upper end of guidance with Q2 returning to sales growth. We remain on track to deliver our full year guidance. We're progressing our indications for Repsido, Unalamab, both potential multi-blockbuster assets. And we're focused on our second half pivotal readouts that remain on track that would allow us to raise our mid to long-term growth outlook. And with that, we'll open it up to questions.
Sharon: Thank you. To ask a question, you will need to press star 1 and 1 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. Please limit yourself to one question and return to the queue for any follow-ups. To withdraw your question, please press star 1 and 1 again. We will now take the first question. And your first question today comes from the line of Peter Fedult from BNP Paribas. Please go ahead.
Peter Fedult: Thanks, people at BNP Paribas. Realise there's not much incremental you can say re-upcoming Phase 3 readouts. I heard your comments on Delbrex RAS. So with that in mind, can we focus on the accelerated approval potential for VOTA plan in Huntington's? I know Phase 3 planning underway, but do you have any visibility or ballpark timelines you can give us for when FDA might make a decision and whether you can file early on the Phase 2 data generated thus far? Thank you.
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: Yeah, thanks, Peter. So we're planning in the process of engaging with the FDA on that phase two data. I think at this point, our base case remains that we would need to do the phase three study as designed. So no change on that expectation. I don't have a specific timeline. I would expect it to happen in the second half to provide more clarity. And I would also note that we continue to follow these phase two patients for a longer duration as well, which could provide us additional data. We do know the FDA's recent decisions or recent guidances from some of other therapies that could be available for Huntington's disease, which certainly I think shows the FDA's openness if the data ultimately is compelling. So we certainly want to have that engagement, but I wouldn't change our base case at this point that a phase three study would be required.
Sharon: Thank you. Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Sachin Jain from Bank of America. Please go ahead.
Sachin Jain: Hi there, thanks for taking my question. So I am going to ask a question that's very tight and given there's a lot of focus, it's a kind of catch-all question. So given the change from your communication in and out of on Alimab, Sjogren's on clinically meaningful, just wondering whether you've decided internally how you define clinically meaningful for three reads investors most focus on, so Pella, RemyMS, DM1. Maybe I'll just give you a catch. It's a fair to think that any static benefit is clinically meaningful in your eyes for different reasons for each asset and any changes in level of confidence on each. Thanks a lot.
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: Yeah, thanks Sachin. So no change from previous comments. We don't know anything else that I can provide on any of the three. I think in terms of how we will read them out, I think we always focus on the primary endpoint and statistical significance and reaching the goal and the primary endpoint in the study. I think certainly so that I mean that will guide how we how we communicate and then as appropriate additional secondary endpoints as well if appropriate to comment on them. I mean, I think for Pellifarcin as we've guided in the past, we continue to we power the study for the kind of 13 to 15% CVRR benefit and certainly are hopeful to see that level or higher. And if we can see higher, obviously, we'd prefer that. But I think that's how we think about it. In MS, we'll certainly be looking at not only the ARR reduction, but also the impact on disability. And clearly in DM1, in addition to VHOT, also want to see some of the secondary endpoints and how they perform as well. But I think that the reality is we have to be thoughtful because we want to be able to preserve the ability to present this data at high profile Congresses in the future. So we'll navigate that best we can, making sure investors have clarity on what we believe the path forward is, but still preserving that ability to present the data as well.
Sachin Jain: Can I just say one follow on that? You've commented on the answers to the powering of Teller. I don't think you've ever given us any color on how Remy MS or DM1 are powered.
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: Yeah, I don't think we have for either of those. I mean, I think for MF, you all know well how studies that are head to head against Obagio have been powered in the past. So I think you have that as background. So I don't think there's more that I could provide, but provide there. And I think on DM1, primary endpoint is VHOT. And then we have the various secondary endpoints that we've been discussing with the agency. But I don't think we could provide any further clarity on that one at the moment. Thank you.
Sharon: Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Florence Estades from OdoBHF. Please go ahead.
Florence Estades: Good afternoon. Thank you so much for taking my question. Florence Estades from OdoBHF. A quick one for Mukul. Maybe, Mukul, could you give us a little bit more color about the one-off events which impacted the Q2 top line and operating profit margin? Some color on that point would be great. Thank you.
Mukul: Yeah. Thank you very much, Florent, for the question. So the one-time phasing that I mentioned, so we have a one percentage point impact on top line. This is primarily Inventory related changes that we saw across the whole world. This would simply move from Q2 to Q3 from an inventory perspective. And then on the cost side, on the R&D phasing side, we have a couple of clinical trial related costs that have essentially were planned for Q2 and now will move to Q3. If we put both of them together, then on the top line, it's an impact of 1%. and on the bottom line, the accumulated impact of the top line over delivery added or compounded by the cost phasing leads to a 5% impact on the core operating income.
Florence Estades: Thank you very much. Very clear. Thanks.
Sharon: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Colin White from UBS. Please go ahead.
Colin White: Hi, Colin White from UBS here. Thanks for saying my question. Just to go back to Remy Bruteneb and MS, please could you recap specifically what gives you confidence that Remy Bruteneb can improve upon the annualised relapse rate of about 0.1 that Abagio has achieved in recent RMS studies?
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: Well, I mean, I think for us, as you know, we don't have phase two data. So we're basing this based on other BTK inhibitors performance in similar studies. We continue to monitor blinded rates for safety and relapse rates. And I think taken together, that gives us confidence that the study is performing as expected in terms of the differences between the active and the control arm. But not more we can say at this point until we ultimately read out the trial. I think for us, clearly with remibrutinib, in addition to looking at annualized relapse rate and MRI performance, how it performs in disability progression will be important to understand is REMI something that would be used in a setting post the B-cell antibodies or could it be used in a setting in line or ahead of the B-cell antibodies and this will all be data driven and obviously once we see that data we'll be able to provide better guidance on that use but that's probably about as much as we can provide at this point.
Sharon: Thank you. Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Richard Foster from JP Morgan. Please go ahead.
Richard Foster: Hi, thanks for taking my question. Just another question on Pella Carson. We've seen some other cardiovascular trials recently suffer from high levels of drop-ins of existing therapies. So wondering how you've controlled for that in the Horizon trial. Just thinking about it in relation to, I suppose, PCSK9s, but also for GLP-1s and SGLT2s, given the 25% of patients that are diabetics. So how should we think about that level of use and potentially the impact on any benefits of Pelacarcin? Thanks very much.
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: Yeah, thanks, Richard. I mean, it is important to know we study Pell Carson on top of optimized background lipid lowering therapy. I mean, our current estimate is that the number of patients who were on incretin-based therapies in the study is less than 10%. I mean, we estimate it to be around 6%. So we don't believe that if there was any effect from those medicines in the setting, that we wouldn't expect that to impact the results here. So when we look at it overall, it's more or less as we planned in terms of background therapy. And so we don't think that will be a major swing factor, at least based on what we can see so far.
Richard Foster: Thank you. Okay.
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: Go ahead, Richard.
Richard Foster: No, it was just on PCSK9, just one quick follow-up. Was that controlled as well? I know it was 11% at the start, but does that creep up during the trial? Anything you can say?
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: I think with respect to PCSK9s, I believe they've also been in line with what we saw earlier in the study, but we can follow up with the details. I know the GLP-1 data for sure, but I don't recall that the PCSK9s are a source of concern either.
Richard Foster: Brilliant. Thank you very much, Fash.
Sharon: Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Michael Leighton from Jefferies. Please go ahead.
Michael Leighton: Thank you. Question from MoCo, please. The guidance for mid to high single-digit C or EBIT growth in the second half seems to imply more cost control, especially taking into consideration the EVIT, TR&D phasing that you just mentioned. Can you talk about the P&L dynamics? Like, where are you containing costs? And is that something that we need to take into consideration as we think about 27? Or is that sort of tucking in expenses that will not recur? Thank you.
Mukul: Yeah. Thanks, Michael, for the question. I think from a P&L Dynamics perspective, two things I'd say is H1 to H2, we always have from a profitability perspective, from a spend perspective, H2 being a higher spend half. For example, Q2, our profitability finished with 41.2% operating margin, and we know that Q2 is typically the most profitable quarter, so to say. So that part of the dynamic will remain going into this year as well. In terms of where we are working from a productivity perspective, things have been pretty consistent from beginning of the year. Beginning of the year, we said we'll continue our productivity measures when it comes to our manufacturing operations. Operations is done very well. Gross margin would be pressured as the portfolio shifts. but productivity should help us keep gross margins more or less to where second half last year was on gross margin. On R&D, we will continue to invest what the pipeline needs and this would mean incremental investments this year on the back of Avidity but also a couple of other assets that we took on including Tourmaline, Regulus and Anthos last year. And then SG&A as a percentage of sales is a place where we believe we as a company can do more productive efforts specifically focused on third-party spend which is upwards of 10 billion dollars for the company and that is what we continue to do as we look at Q2 we actually see while gross margin quarter on quarter gross margin has has been a negative but SG&A as a percentage of sales has actually been a positive negating that gross margin impact and that I would assume I would think is um From a prognosis perspective, that is something that we will continue towards the second half of the year. Thank you.
Sharon: Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of James Quigley from Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.
James Quigley: Great, thank you for my questions. I've got one on deals and M&As. I think, Vaz, your quote on Bloomberg is you'd consider larger deals again. So this is a bit of a transition into the commentary over the years. A few years back it was It was no big deals, then it was focused on bolt-ons, then we had Avidity which is later stage and a bit larger. So what's changed either internally at Novartis or externally that's driven openness to larger deals and what could a bigger deal look like in terms of strategic fit given your therapeutic areas and technology set? Thank you.
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: I don't know what exactly Bloomberg wrote, but I can say there's no change in our M&A strategy. We've been, I think, disciplined and consistent that we focus on steady deals in the kind of sub $2 billion range, which with the upfronts in that range often lower, and then selectively do larger deals in the range of things like avidity when there is a compelling asset that fits with our either our platform strategy or our TA strategy or both and Havidity fit both. So no change at all in our M&A strategy. We don't need to do anything larger than that. We have full confidence in our internal portfolio and pipeline and R&D engine. And yet we know we need to constantly supplement that engine with additional external innovation. So you can expect just a continuation of what you've seen over the recent years.
James Quigley: Great, thank you.
Sharon: Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Simon Baker from Rothschild & Co. Please go ahead.
Simon Baker: Thank you for taking my question. One on the pipeline, if I may, please. I wonder if you could just update us on your thoughts on the confidence and potential for abalacimab. And also, I see that it's still showing as 2027 readout milestone in the slide deck. Clinical trials is now showing a late December 27 primary completion. Is that still a 27-hour event or is there potential for slippage into 2028? Thanks so much.
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: Yeah, thanks, Simon. So we remain excited about abelastamab. As a reminder, this is a monthly monoclonal antibody that has shown outstanding, I think, overall pharmacokinetic pharmacodynamics on a very well-behaved antibody on factor XI. We've seen with competitor data that factor XI appears to deliver on the promise Very strong anticoagulation without increased bleeding risk, which is what the genetics would indicate for us. And so we have the study ongoing in patients who are ineligible for NOACs. And that study, we have upsized that study given the event rates that we saw. So you can also see that at clinicaltrials.gov. but we're on track for a readout before the end of the year that is a readout at 75% of events just to be clear and then the study would continue if it's not successful at that point or that doesn't meet the stopping criteria at that point to finish the number of events in the in in 2028 and then we evaluate now or in the process of beginning additional studies in secondary stroke prevention as well as assessing other indications as well so Excited about that opportunity. I think it could be a significant asset if the trials ultimately read out positive.
Simon Baker: Great. Thanks so much.
Sharon: Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Thibaut Botherin from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.
Thibaut Botherin: Thank you. Just a question on Hidvisma. Now that you have launched the drug and we start to see the cells coming in, do you have any more visibility on what you expect to be the shape of the bolus of cells from this therapy over the next few years. If you have an indication of when you expect the cells to peak, you know, is it next year, is it 28? And then on the magnitude, I think in the past, Novartis was talking about multi-billion dollars for this asset. So just if you could comment on your confidence on the peak cells here.
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: Yeah, thanks, Teva. So no change. I'd say we, as you know, just got the European Commission approval. I think in general with gene therapy, as we learned with Zolgensma, it does take some time to get the reimbursement. But once we get the reimbursement, we see a relatively rapid ramp on the product. So I would say over the three-year period is where we would expect to see the ramp on Visma. as we get additional countries online. It's also worth noting, as with Zulgensma, we expect ex-US to be larger than the US. Same dynamics we saw with Zulgensma. So all on track, but it is important to note this first year will be mostly focused on securing reimbursement. and you know from a peak sales potential also no change with Zolgensma we expect the continued steady state in this blockbuster billion dollar plus territory and we expect the advertisement to have a kind of two billion dollar range so that the overall package of these two medicines have a three billion dollar potential.
Sharon: Thank you. Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Steve Scala from TD Cowen. Please go ahead.
Steve Scala: Thank you so much. Vas, you called out Cosimpta in non-US markets as a growth opportunity, but Cosimpta had leadership in 9 of 10 markets in Q4 and Q1, and 8 of 10 markets in Q2, and one difference appears to have been China. So I'm curious what happened with Cosimpta in China in Q2. Thank you.
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: Yes, Steve, so no change in China that we're aware of. We did drop off in Italy actually from 9 out of 10 to 8 out of 10. I'd say in general, you know, Cosimta does very well in Asia. It's a market leader in Japan. But it is worth noting that multiple sclerosis levels in Asia are significantly lower than what we see in other parts of the world. So the overall sales potential is lower. So but I would say overall, we continue to see significant opportunity, you know, outside of the US, just simply because the market has not, you know, these cell therapies have just not adequately penetrated the market. and, you know, outside of the US. So for all these health therapies, there's just an opportunity to get more patients on the best possible medicine. And I don't have the details on the Italy shift, but I imagine it's just market share dynamics in a country that we have, of course, other competitors. Thank you.
Sharon: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Seamus Fernandez from Guggenheim Securities. Please go ahead.
Seamus Fernandez: Thanks for the question. So, I guess the question on our side is just given the substantial valuation and increases that we've seen across biotech in the last year. How should we be thinking about the business development opportunities as you see going forward? You talked about the BD focus really being no change, but certainly one change in that mix has been valuation. So just trying to get a better sense of how you're thinking about that and the kind of risk that Novartis needs to take going forward. And then just a quick question that I wanted to ask on the Pella Carson side of things. It's a composite endpoint, and my recollection was we saw a muted benefit, or maybe not muted, but a teen's benefit with SGLT2s, but an outsized benefit in the heart failure population on cardiovascular death. How might that kind of an outcome play out, or do you see that as a potential outcome for Pella Carson as the data reads out in the second half of this year? Thanks.
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: Thanks, Seamus. So I think on valuation, I mean, look, when I reflect over nine years, I would say that the price of assets that don't have minimal clinical data has gone up quite dramatically. You see now ourselves and our peers doing upfronts that are over a billion dollars for assets that have limited or no clinical data, which is, I think, if you look at the long arc of the sector, a significant shift, which I think just means you have to have higher levels of conviction in the science and differentiated, something that you believe is unique and differentiated. In our case, the three deals we did this year with Pickivation, we believe that there is an opportunity to address More of the mutant, a pan-mutant kind of approach in PI3 kinase-driven breast cancer with XLRG to tackle with hopefully a much higher efficacy than historical IgE therapies given the ability to target IgE in a fundamentally different way. In the case of Murex, a novel payload that hopefully has the NMTI payload that has a cleaner profile than the toposomerous payloads. But I think you have to have some sort of differentiated conviction just given that the price levels are climbing. That said, you have to be able to access external innovation to grow companies of our size. So we have to just keep looking for that right balance of breakthrough science and then finding the right balance from a valuation standpoint. Your point on Palo-Carson is well taken. I mean, there is, you know, an element here of the MACE endpoint versus, you know, CV death. LP little a is associated with high rates of sudden cardiac death, particularly in younger patients. Very difficult, of course, for us to say without having, you know, locked the database and seen the data to know exactly, but There is at least the potential for CV death to be an important component, at least theoretically, given the profile of LP little a. It's something we'll have to look carefully at and how that drives versus other elements of the endpoint. Next question.
Sharon: Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Kerry Holford from Barenburg. Please go ahead.
Kerry Holford: Thank you very much. Question for Rumi on Kiskali, just on the IP, the extension that you've been granted related to pediatric exclusivity. Can you confirm now that that combat master expiry is May 2032? And in the context of your earlier settlements with generic players, is that when we should now be assuming generic market entries?
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: Yes, thanks for the question. So our guidance is a second half 2031, so Q3 2031 guidance for LOE for Kiscali with the pediatric exclusivity and that's inclusive of the settlements that we have with generic manufacturers. Thank you. And just as a quick note as well, we double checked in China for Cosimta, we have 70% market share and our are market leader as well. Next question, Alfred.
Sharon: Thank you. Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Emmanuel Papadakis from Deutsche Bank. Please go ahead.
Emmanuel Papadakis: Thank you for taking the question. Maybe I'll take one on Iron Alameda and Sjogren's. Given we must be relatively late in the regulatory review process, could you perhaps just give us an update on how that's proceeding? Is everything on track? And are you expecting a panel? And then on commercial readiness, Some sense of expectations for magnitude of initial access, breadth and willingness to prescribe, etc. Could you just give us a sense in those parameters? Should we be looking at something like classic immunology launch like Ascentix or are there other things, other analogs we should perhaps bear in mind? Thank you.
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: Yeah, thanks, Emmanuel. So, again, as far as we know, no advisory committee plan for Yanalamab. We've had the mid-cycle review meetings and so we're continuing to provide FDA all the information they're requesting. So all on track from that point for a Q3 approval. I think from a market uptake standpoint, our current expectation is given that there is no approved therapy in Sjogren's, we should get relatively broad access with all the caveats that this does take time to get the environment opened up. and then we think that physicians, given that the drug has a clean safety profile, will err on the side of trialing the drug in patients and ultimately seeing How patients respond. I mean, this is a very heterogeneous patient population. Even the STI endpoint is covering a broad range of domains. And we do see in our own data sets, there are patients who are super responders and patients who respond less well. And so we're, I think, going to see in the marketplace, you know, for patients who respond, they'll stay on medicine and other patients will cycle off. But I think the key thing here is we have a clean safety profile here. which lowers the bar for physicians to at least give patients the option given the nature of disease. These are often young female patients in working age who obviously want better control of their symptoms and their disease. So we're optimistic on that front as well. We continue to guide that standalone in Sjogren's, we should reach a multi-billion dollar potential. And then as I mentioned in my opening comments, Unalamab has a number of other indications that we're also pursuing both in hematology and in immunology.
Sharon: Thank you. Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Graham Parry from Citigroup. Please go ahead.
Graham Parry: Great, thanks for taking my questions. So on telecast and a quick follow-up, as you just clarified, the 13% to 15% is what the trial is minimally powered to detect. I think you said it was just what it was powered for, but I think the design paper says it's 20% on all comers. And would you view that 13% to 15% as a clinically meaningful result? So that was a follow-up. And then on REMI-MS, could you just comment on your confidence In achieving disability progression, I was taught to the brain penetration of the molecule and action at the microglia compared to remabrutinib, which actually didn't show that with statistical significance in its phase three. Thank you.
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: Yeah, thanks. So you are correct. 13 to 15 would mean a win. It's powered for 20% for the patients who are 70 milligrams in DL and above or 25% for the 90 milligram DL and above. and so I think we would say in the mid-teens it's clinically meaningful given that these patients have no other option and that this is an independent risk factor and so yeah we'll ultimately see what the data shows and then with respect to Remy and MS I think we have everything indicates to us that the trial has been conducted and the data that we're seeing that from An ARR standpoint that we're on track versus what we would have expected in the data set. As you know with disability progression we have no way to know and I think it's very difficult for me to handicap that. We saw the data with We do believe that our molecule is more potent on the target and more selective. And so we're hopeful that that leads to the improvements in disability progression that would bring us in line with the antibody-based B-cell therapies. But there's no way for us to assess that in any sort of objective way at this point until the study reads out.
Colin White: Thank you.
Sharon: Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Rajesh Kumar from HSBC. Please go ahead.
Rajesh Kumar: One question for Mukul. Thanks for clarifying what sort of cost cut is flowing forward. Just if we are thinking through the P&L on margins, The growth margin level we have now sort of captures most of the interest or negative impact. Should we sort of expect this to be the level from which you can build based on when you get growth from younger products in the portfolio while you get the profit growth through SG&A management and R&D phasing obviously grows in second half. So just in terms of gross margin trough point, should we be thinking about now or later in the year?
Mukul: Thanks for the question, Rajesh. So I think gross margin, we already said we had this discussion beginning of the year, and I think it's the point on the gross margin where we are now is a good point to take from modeling for the future. and what we already said is end of last year, Q3, Q4 of last year, if you take an average of that, that should be the gross margin point that we take. But worth saying is that gross margin would never be flat. It depends on the profit mix that we have from a quarter on quarter perspective. And as we move the portfolio forward, there are pushes and pulls that we have in our portfolio. a great drug if comes to life like remibrutinib, a small molecule. We don't have any royalties versus some of our other portfolio where the gross margins would be more stretched. But I think from a modeling perspective, I would take the year-to-date gross margin as a good indicator of what's to expect for year to go.
Rajesh Kumar: Thank you very much.
Sharon: Thank you. As a reminder, if you wish to ask a question, please press star 1 and 1 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. Please limit yourself to one question and return to the queue for any follow-up. We will now go to the next question. And the next question comes from the line of Florian Cespedes from OdoBHS. Please go ahead.
Florence Estades: Good afternoon. Thank you very much for taking my follow-up question. A question about the cardio business. Assuming positive results on Pelacarsen later this year and positive LegVio outcome trials next year, will you have to use either a new sales force or will you use an existing sales force, that would be the one on LegVio, some color also on the budget going forward? Will you have to invest massively in marketing to promote the new exciting clinical results? Thank you.
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: Yeah, thanks, Laurent. I think at the moment we would expect that with, for Pella Carson, that we would be able to leverage the existing global Lectio field force that we have. Of course, usual adjustments that we might need to make. And I think the Overall, any investments that would be required for the pellet Carson launch, particularly around disease awareness to get additional patients tested for LP little a levels, we would be able to, as all factored into the guidance that we've given on margin progression. I think, as we've noted in the past, it will take time to drive up these biomarker testing rates. But we're hopeful that with a drug that has an attractive efficacy that will motivate physicians to test and ultimately patients to get on therapy I think for elsewhere in the cardiovascular portfolio, obviously with Avalosumab as well as the Phase 3 program we'll be running with our NTIL-6 recently acquired medicine as well Those might require additional field force investments, and we'll, of course, provide any guidance on that once we get those phase three results and have a better read on those. Those obviously go to different physician segments, both for anticoagulation and in the case of the anti-IL-sick, Pasi-Beck-Hattug, would be for physicians who are treating in the more acute coronary setting.
Florence Estades: Good. Thank you very much, Raph.
Sharon: Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Colin White from UBS. Please go ahead.
Colin White: Hi, Colin White from UBS. Thanks for taking my question. Just on the stocking in the quarter, we understand the 1% of sales beat was from stocking. Cassenti explained some of this but not all of it. So are you able to provide any colour on what other drugs may have experienced stocking?
Mukul: We'll go. Colin, this was no particular brand I would call out on stocking. I think this was across the board. It was not just in one single geography, but multiple geographies, and I would not attribute this to a specific drug, the stocking.
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: Yeah, and maybe just to provide a little bit of color as well. I mean, this was related to the implementation of our new SAP system, where it's often the case when we roll that out in multiple geographies, we do have to shift stocking levels for the cutover to the new SAP system. So that's the driver and the reason why it's not associated with one brand per se. Thanks.
Sharon: Thank you. Your next question. Thank you for the follow-up.
Michael Leighton: Vask, interested in your Semblix comment about the second half aiming for NBRX leadership in the US. Is that just natural progression of the dynamics that we're seeing or is there a pivot point that would inflect that further?
Steve Scala: Yeah, thanks, Michael.
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: I think, yes, it's just the momentum we're seeing. I also think that, you know, now we've gotten very strong access position for the brand. And so I think that stronger access position as it flows through. I mean, one of the things with CML is because it is a rare disease and there's a limited number of newly diagnosed patients in a given year, it just takes time. And so any of the smaller fluctuations that you see, you know, quarter on quarter is driven by very few patients. But all indications we're seeing is that given the very strong safety profile that physicians are seeing with the drug and obviously the known efficacy profile, there's just a lot of momentum now. So that gives us confidence that we'll get to that market leadership position in the US. And I mean, I'll flag again, I mentioned in my opening comments that we're really just at the beginning now of moving from third line to first line ex-US. And I think one of the things that's been a positive trend as well There are multiple generic medicines available in that first-line setting. There seems to be a strong demand from physicians, but also payers are accepting the fact that Semblitz has demonstrated that it is a superior medicine in that front-line setting and more openness to give us the reimbursement we would expect for such a medicine.
Sharon: Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of James Quigley from Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.
James Quigley: Hello, thank you for taking a follow-up. So earlier this year, Lutothera generics were cleared to launch by the courts in Delaware, so a small impact overall on the sales perspective, but how should we think about potential launches for future generic RLTs? We don't have any experience here, obviously, when thinking about generic impacts for RLTs, and Novartis clearly has a number of competitive advantages, but how are you thinking the markets could react, or how could this play out If and when we see generic ROTs launching. Thank you.
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: Yeah, thanks, James. So as far as we know, neither of the two companies has received an FDA approval. One is a 505B2 and one is a generic ROT. We continue to believe there needs to be a high threshold used by regulators to ensure that the same dose of radiation is being delivered to the tumor versus the originator brand that we have. That being said, we do believe that given our extensive network of supply and our ability to deliver on time in full capacity, Thank you very much. Logistical complexity and as well this expectation that physicians have that the medicine is delivered on time each time given the nature of the logistics for the office. So, you know, we feel confident that from that said, we're not, we continue to work to keep bringing better medicines, not only with the case of PSMA and prostate cancer, but we also follow on efforts as well. for GRPR and really trying to improve the treatment for neuroendocrine tumors as well, follow-ons for Lutathera. So stay tuned on that front as well.
James Quigley: Great, thank you.
Sharon: Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Irvine Fritcher from ZKB. Please go ahead.
Peter Fedult: Yes, thanks a lot for taking my question. A question on LECRIO in China. Maybe if you could share some details on how the momentum is developing and what would be needed to really have upside to your current guidance of, I guess it's 1 billion in China now.
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: Yeah, thank you. Thank you, Irwin, for the question. So, you know, with Lectio, we initially saw very strong uptake in launch in the private self-based segment, which I think really indicates there's a high demand for the medicine in the secondary prevention, but importantly as well in the primary prevention setting as well from a self-based standpoint. and then I think what we've seen is very strong performance now. Once we had the NRDL listing, we see that both in the hospital segment and in the traditional segments as well, very strong performance. So I think seeing that continued steady growth should get us to it being our largest medicine potentially that we've ever delivered in China. and Trusto gives us a very strong benchmark in China, but we think Letheo has the potential as well. And I think really it depends now on the dynamics, on the growth as we try to continue to expand into additional hospitals, into additional regions. I would say as well, we look now to also bring additional siRNAs into the China market rapidly. We think there's an opportunity in cardiovascular hypertension and CVR risk reduction for our follow-on siRNAs in China, where there seems to be a high demand for infrequently administered therapies with very clean safety profiles. And I think that gives us a bigger opportunity in China in the longer term for that cardiovascular siRNA portfolio.
Peter Fedult: Thank you.
Sharon: Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of and Steve Schuyler from TD Cowan. Please go ahead.
Steve Scala: Oh, thank you for the follow-up. Were there any surprises in the label or the pricing of the oral PCSK9 inhibitor recently approved that alter Novartis' view of the commercial potential for Lectio? And Vas is a very skilled and experienced drug developer. Any thoughts on how limiting the fasting ultimately will be? Thank you.
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: Thanks, Steve. So I think no surprises other than the reference to the PCSK9 outcomes trials. So I think we're trying to understand that, you know, given that usually we don't get to refer to somebody else's outcome studies. and I think with respect to the other than that nothing that changes our view I mean look our belief is that there's a significant segment of market and this is a huge market the number of patients who are not at goal for lipid lowering to reach their lipid targets is significant in the United States you know we're talking about here a 70 million patient segment overall you know a significant portion of these patients who are not at goal and so I think the opportunity for the PCSK9s is for these advanced lipid lowering therapies is significant. And we see that there's ongoing demand for patients who want infrequently administered therapies and physicians who want to provide the therapy as well in a physician administered setting. So I think the fact that we are not participating in the gross to net battle that will ensue between the monoclonal antibodies and the orals actually are in a segment that's insulated from that, I think is a strong position in the longer run for our goals of a $4 billion to $5 billion plus product. Now with respect to the food effect, I think it remains to be seen. I mean, I think clearly the eight-hour fast plus the 30, I think it's a 30-minute or so post-fast in this particular drug. But, you know, I think we'll have to see because obviously patients can find ways to manage that. And I would say there are other competitors coming that as far as we understand may not have the food effect. Given that, I think we just have to focus on our segment and focus on the patients that we can reach in that Part B buy-and-bill setting in the U.S. I do want to pitch again, outside of the U.S., particularly in Asia, we see very strong uptake for siRNAs. And we think that it's a very country-by-country situation as to what kind of profile people are looking for in the medicines. And at least in Asia and Middle East, we see a high demand for siRNAs. It gives us a lot of confidence. Thank you.
Sharon: Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Sachin Jain from Bank of America. Please go ahead.
Sachin Jain: Hi, thanks for the follow-up. I just had one on FSHD. In your introductory comments, you referenced ongoing analysis looking at correlating CDOCs to outcomes and that you would use that for the conversation with the regulator. So I guess two linked questions. One, will you comment about data when you have it? and B, what conversations have you had with the regulator around using that analysis to try and accelerate the biomarker driven file? Thank you.
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: So we have the previous interactions that Avidity had with FDA on what would be required in this Phase 1B, Phase 2 study to enable filing. So we're very clear on what the FDA is looking for. I mean, if you think about it, the way the FDA thinks about this is we know that Dux4 is impacted in this disease. How is circulating KHDLC correlating with Dux4? How is that relating to creatine kinase and how is all of this relating ultimately to muscle function as best as we can determine in the patient set that we have? So we have that data. We were analyzing the biopsy data that we have as well from the patients in the trial and then putting that all together to take it to the FDA. What I can say is the data that we've seen thus far gives us, we believe we have reason to have the discussion with the FDA and to make the case. Can't guarantee that we will win the case, but I think we have what we think is worthy of a case that should be made to the FDA for an accelerated filing. And once we have that meeting, we'll provide further guidance.
Sachin Jain: Okay, thank you.
Sharon: Thank you. We will now take our final question for today. And the final question comes from the line of Peter Fadalt from BNP Paribas. Please go ahead.
Peter Fedult: Yeah, thanks for the follow-up. Quick one to end for Mukul. Just on Rapsido, the IQV trends look great, and I heard your comments earlier about don't expect an inflection, but can you help us at all giving us a ballpark split between what is bridge versus paid prescriptions right now? Just any ballpark numbers would be helpful. Thank you.
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: Mukul, or is it you asking me, or? So I think, well, I can take that, Peter. I wasn't sure if you were addressing it. It's a little cool. But, you know, on Rapsido, yeah, we're not providing any detailed guidance on the bridging program. You know, what I would say is it's in line with what we've historically seen in terms of getting patients over to paid scripts. I think now for Rapsido, it's really just a story of step-by-step continuing to drive up the access environment. I mean, we see strong demand. Very strong demand in the dermatology segment. We're working on building stronger demand as well in the allergy segment. In general, once physicians start using the medicine and they get the feedback from the patients that they're seeing disease improvement within hours and certainly within a week, that gives a very compelling case to continued use. But we're trying to stay really disciplined on the growth to nets here. We just... believe that if we play the long run out here, Remy Bruton has the potential to be used in a broad range of indications, as you all well know. And any points we give now, we won't be able to get back in the future. And so we're just being very thoughtful. So I think the access will improve sequentially over the course of this year, but that will ultimately set us up, I think, for a strong 2027 and then a strong longer term outlook for Remy Bruton in the future. Thank you.
Sharon: Thank you. I will now hand the call back to you, Vas.
Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan: Absolutely. And I just wanted to come back to Richard Bossor's question. We can confirm that the PCSK9 use was just modestly increased versus the 11% from the baseline population. So not a significant factor we expect in the studies. But thanks for that question, Richard. So thanks, everyone, for joining today's conference call. So we'll look forward to keeping you up to speed as we have the readouts over the coming months. and of course catching up with you in various settings in the meantime and we look forward to a strong second half and wish you all a great summer break as well. Thank you.
Sharon: Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. Thanks for participating. You may now disconnect.
