Novartis hoping to lift SMA gene therapy sales with Itvisma approval

While Roche’s oral therapy Evrysdi remains the top seller among the spinal muscular atrophy therapies, Novartis hopes to grow its SMA gene therapy sales after FDA’s approval on Tuesday of an intrathecal version of Zolgensma. The new product, Itvisma, is intended to treat an older, broader patient population.

Roche (SIX:ROG; OTCQX:RHHBY) reported $533 million in Evrysdi risdiplam sales in 3Q25, up 10% from 3Q24. The most recent quarterly results put the small molecule’s nine-month total at about $1.6 billion, and suggest it could exceed $2 billion in annual sales this year. Though not itself a genetic medicine, Evrysdi works by modifying SMN2 pre-mRNA splicing, thereby increasing full-length protein production...