FRANKFURT, April 24 (Reuters) - Roche said on

Wednesday its first-quarter sales slipped 6% as the loss on

COVID-19 related revenue was partly offset by further gains in

eye drug Vabysmo.

First-quarter sales slipped to 14.4 billion Swiss francs

($15.80 billion), in line with analysts expectations, also due

to a strong Swiss franc weighing on the overseas sales.

Roche said it still expects an increase in 2024 sales in the

mid single-digit percentage range at constant exchange rates.

($1 = 0.9115 Swiss francs)