Oxford BioMedica PLC (OXBDF)

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REVENUE FORECAST: Novartis is expected to report sales of about $12.79 billion, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet. This compares with $12.32 billion in the fourth quarter last year.

WHAT TO WATCH

CAR-T: In August, Novartis received approval for its CAR-T treatment, Kymriah, from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and fourth-quarter results should give an idea of how its commercialization is progressing. Kymriah, a gene therapy that re-engineers the patient's immune cells to fight cancer, was first approved to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia and Novartis is seeking approval to expand its usage to include large B-cell lymphoma, or DLBCL. Broadening its use would grow Kymriah's opportunity, analysts at Berenberg say. However, they say Novartis would probably need to adopt a different pricing approach for DLBCL, where response rates are lower, so the analysts will be looking for insights into Novartis's pricing strategy for future indications.