Switzerland-based drug maker, Novartis AG saw sales rise of 14% to $14.03 billion due to its completion of the buyout of the US-based eye care company Alcon and the recent strong demand for a number of its drugs. Its new pill for multiple sclerosis exceeded the expectations forecasted for its first quarter sales.

Chief Executive of the company Joe Jimenez said that Gilenya, which is the first pill ever to treat the debilitating MS, was already raking in “significant revenues”, and that the sales of the drug reached $59 million in the first quarter.

As of 08:22 GMT, Novartis shares were 2.8% higher in trading; as compared to the overall 0.6% rise of sales in the European healthcare index altogether. However, Novartis shares have lost more than 11% of their value this year and have been behind the rest of the sector.

Jefferies analyst Jeff Holford said, “With a good Gilenya number, Alcon synergy expectations edged up and the share buyback now able to restart, we anticipate the shares moving better”. In fact, the excellent recent performance of Novartis’s products may be putting them a step above their competition. For example, some of their rivals are seeing losses in sales of flu-related products, and last week specifically Roche saw a 47% drop on sales of their product Tamiflu.