Novartis Q3 profit up 17 percent to $3.15 bln...

Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG posted a 17 percent rise in third-quarter net profit Thursday thanks to strong sales of new products and the acquisition of eye care company Alcon.

The maker of hypertension drug Diovan and anticancer treatment Glivec -- known as Gleevec in the United States -- said net profits reached $3.15 billion compared with $2.68 billion in the same period of 2009.

Sales rose 13 percent to $12.6 billion from $11.1 billion a year earlier. New products contributed 20 percent -- or $2.3 billion -- in revenue. More...

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