The drugmaker missed analyst estimates as demand for Tamiflu fell and growth of the Herceptin breast cancer drug slowed. Revenue climbed 5.7 percent to $9.4 billion, as sales of Herceptin increased only 18 percent, the slowest rate in at least five quarters, Bloomberg News notes. And Roche expects core earnings to grow faster than sales in 2007, while revenue from pharmaceuticals is forecast to grow more than 10 percent. Here’s the statement.

Sales of Avastin, the first treatment to choke off blood to tumors, jumped 45 percent, above analyst expectations. The med is approved for colon and lung cancer in the US as well as breast cancer in Europe. It faces competition, though, from ImClone’s Erbitux, which is also approved as a colon cancer treatment, Bloomberg reminds us.

Sales of Tamiflu, one of only two meds that may help prevent an avian flu pandemic, fell 60 percent as demand from governments waned. Last April, Roche hoped to boost sales for corporate pandemic stockpiles as orders from governments tapered off and public demand slackened. Roche’s US ceo, George Abercrombie, has been flying about trying to convince companies to order, but Roche may cut production capacity unless demand rises.

Excluding the impact of the Tamiflu slowdown, group sales for the quarter would have grown 10 percent, Roche said. Roche had anticipated a drop in Tamiflu sales as outstanding orders were filled, but the slowdown was sharper than markets had expected, MarketWatch notes.