CEO of Novartis’ generics unit quits, sparking sale speculation

Richard Francis is stepping down as CEO of Novartis’ generics and biosimilars division Sandoz at the end of March, sparking further speculation about the unit’s future. The Swiss drugmaker said that current region head for Europe, Francesco Balestrieri, has been appointed ad-interim CEO of Sandoz, reporting to Vas Narasimhan, Novartis’ CEO. Francis gave few reasons for stepping down, save that he could not commit to a “multi-year transformation” of Sandoz for personal reasons. Sandoz last year sold a group of US drugs to India’s Aurobindo and began to separate the company from the rest of Novartis. This process is expected to continue into 2020 and could clear the way for a decision about whether to sell the division, as Narasimhan reshapes Novartis to focus on cutting-edge therapies. Novartis is already spinning off its ophthalmology division, Alcon, and has sold off its over-the-counter products to GlaxoSmithKline, previously part of a joint venture between the two companies.