(Adds North American and EMEA sales in paragraph 4, rival's results, analyst comment and shares in paragraphs 5 to 8)

Oct 31 (Reuters) - Swiss dental implants maker Straumann on Tuesday reported an 11% rise in organic sales growth due to robust demand in its Asia-Pacific business.

Quarterly sales in the region jumped almost by a third, mainly due to a recovery in patient numbers in China, boosted by the government's Volume-Based Procurement (VBP) pricing and relatively weak results in the year-ago period due to pandemic lockdowns.

China's VBP is a tender programme for healthcare products aimed at lowering costs for consumers.

The company, which specialises in tooth replacement and orthodontics, said that strong Asia sales offset weaker growth in the North America and Europe, Middle East, and Africa regions, Straumann's largest markets by revenue, as inflation hampered consumer spending.

"The sequential slowdown in both EMEA and North Am suggests macro challenges are taking a toll," - Jefferies analysts said in a note.

The Switzerland-based group, which earns most of its revenue outside the country, said in a statement a

strengthened

Swiss franc also weighed on overseas sales.

U.S. rival Align Technology lowered its full-year revenue forecast by $140 million last week citing low demand for clear teeth aligners. Following the news, the company lost almost a third of its market value, while Straumann shares dropped as much as 14% on read-across.

Straumann has not seen a slowdown in its dental aligner business and confirmed its full-year outlook, expecting organic revenue growth in the high single-digit percentage range and profitability at around 25%, including growth investments.

The company reported revenue of 571 million Swiss francs ($633.32 million) in the quarter to the end of September, above analysts' average estimate of 558.6 million, according to LSEG data.

Its shares were 2.6% in the Julius Baer pre-market trade.

($1=0.9016 Swiss francs) (Reporting by Andrey Sychev and Anna Mackenzie; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Sonali Paul and Louise Heavens)