Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis saw its second-quarter net income surge to $7.77 billion, up from $1.98 billion in the second quarter of 2017.
The second quarter results included a net gain of $5.7 billion from the sale of the company's stake in GlaxoSmithKline's consumer healthcare joint venture.
Core net income hit $3.01 billion in the second quarter of 2018, up from $2.87 billion from the same quarter a year prior.
Net sales for the quarter rose 7 percent to $13.16 billion, compared to 12.24 billion in the second quarter of 2017. The growth in sales was largely driven by oncology drugs, which grew 10 percent, as well as a 40 percent increase in sales for Cosentyx, a psoriasis drug, and 113 percent increase in sales of Entresto, a drug to treat heart failure.
"We made significant progress this quarter to transform Novartis into a focused medicines company, Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan said. "Operationally, we delivered solid growth, with margins expanding and key growth drivers, including Cosentyx, delivering strong performance."