video transcript

11.27 billion Swiss francs, or 12.07 billion dollars. That's today's daily digit in Europe - it's the third quarter sales figures at Roche - the world's biggest maker of cancer drugs. Roche saw a 15 percent increase in sales, which was above analysts' estimates. Strong sales of top-selling cancer medicines offset a decline in other drugs and a weaker Swiss franc. SOUNDBITE (English) SEVERIN SCHWAN, CEO, ROCHE, SAYING: "We see a stable development in the US, we see a slightly declining business in Europe and we see strong double digit growth in the increasingly important emerging markets and I would expect this trend to continue as we go into 2013. China is one of the drivers in this development. We see a growth of nearly 30 percent, both in pharma and in diagnostics, and I foresee a strong development as we go forward." Schwan refused to comment on speculation that Roche might now reconsider its dropped bid to buy the U.S. gene sequencing company Illumina. He said the firm was banking on a new generation of breast cancer medicine to drive sales. Unlike some of its competitors, its best-selling drugs aren't facing imminent generic competition when their patents expire. Sonia Legg, Reuters