Novartis posts first-quarter sales, profit beat as COVID-19 spurs prescriptions

ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Novartis reported rising first-quarter sales and profit that beat analyst expectations and confirmed its 2020 targets as the coronavirus pandemic prompted patients to stock up on their prescriptions in advance."COVID-19 did result in increased forward purchasing by customers, including at the patient level, as some patients filled prescriptions to cover a longer period of time," Novartis said on Tuesday.Core net income rose to $3.55 billion, from $2.8 billion..