FRANKFURT, Feb 4 (Reuters) – Swiss drugmaker Novartis forecast a decline in ​2026 operating profit in the low ‌single-digit percentage range on Wednesday, held back ‌by competition from cheaper copies of established products such as heart drug Entresto.

It also reported a 1% gain in ⁠fourth-quarter operating ‌profit, which is adjusted for special items, on higher sales ‍of breast cancer drug Kisqali, multiple sclerosis drug Kesimpta and psoriasis drug Cosentyx, among ​other drugs.

The profit figure came in ‌at $4.92 billion, in line with an analyst consensus of about $4.9 billion, compiled by Visible Alpha.

Novartis is leaning on fast-growing cancer drugs Kisqali and Scemblix and ⁠its $30 billion acquisition ​and licensing push last ​year to address the impending patent cliff for some of its ‍blockbuster drugs, ⁠including Entresto for heart failure, allergy shot Xolair and Cosentyx.

(Reporting by ⁠Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt and Bhanvi Satija ‌in London; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise ‌and Linda Pasquini)