Novartis says may have 14 new blockbuster drugs by 2017

ZURICH (Reuters) - Novartis could produce 14 or more new big-selling 'blockbuster' drugs within five years as it bets on cancer, heart and respiratory treatments to fill the gaps left by expiries on current patents, the Swiss firm said on Thursday.

Like many of its rivals, Novartis is facing headwinds as some of its top earners lose patent protection, particularly blood pressure drug Diovan. It is counting on its newest products, such as breast cancer drug Afinitor, to pump up sales.

But some analysts caution that recently launched drugs like multiple sclerosis pill Gilenya and eye medicine Lucentis will face growing competition next year as Biogen Idec and Regeneron bring rival products to market.

Novartis currently has 139 projects in clinical development including more than 73 new molecular entities spread across a wide area of diseases, it said in a statement published ahead of an investor event in Boston on Thursday.

Among its most promising products are serelaxin and LCZ686 to treat patients with heart failure as well as drugs for psoriasis and multiple sclerosis. It plans to file serelaxin for regulatory approval in the U.S. and Europe in early 2013.

However, the results of a late-stage study for serelaxin published on Tuesday were mixed and some analysts think Novartis may need further trials to guarantee its commercial success.

Chief Executive Joseph Jimenez did not rule out further trials but said in a conference call with reporters it would press ahead with filings using the current data.

Novartis's shares were 1.3 percent higher at 57.30 francs by 1315 GMT, when the Stoxx 600 Europe healthcare sector index was up 0.2 percent.

"Novartis does have a very productive research engine. However we will include significant value once we see convincing data," said Andrew Weiss, an analyst at Vontobel.

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Novartis says may have 14 new blockbuster drugs by 2017