Novartis Restructuring Continues as Pharmaceuticals Division Splits, along with Pharma CEO

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Reported by Annette Kreuger, Industrial Info Resources, Incorporated (Sugar Land, Texas)--One of the Pharmaceutical-Biotech Industry's top three drug makers, Swiss-based Novartis International AG (NYSE:NVS) (Basel), has restructured its pharmaceuticals division by creating two business units--Novartis Pharmaceuticals and Novartis Oncology. Coinciding with the organizational split, the division head and chief executive officer of the company's Pharmaceuticals division, David Epstein, called it quits.

The two new business units will form the Innovative Medicines Division, with Novartis Pharmaceuticals operating under its new chief executive officer, Paul Hudson, and Bruno Strigini serving as the chief executive officer of Novartis Oncology. Both will report directly to Joseph Jimenez, chief executive officer of Novartis International.

The Novartis restructuring of oncology into a stand-alone unit underscores its importance to the company, following its $16 billion purchase of GlaxoSmithKline PLC's (NYSE:GSK) (London, England) cancer treatment assets in 2015. The company's remaining drugs will fall under the management of the Pharmaceutical unit.

Effective July 1, 2016, Novartis will operate under three distinct divisions; Innovative Medicines (formerly the Novartis Pharmaceuticals division), which will include the Novartis Pharmaceuticals and Novartis Oncology business units; Sandoz, the generics and biosimilar division, which includes the retail generics, anti-infectives and biopharmaceuticals franchises; and Alcon, the eye care devices division, which includes the surgical and vision care franchises.

Novartis kicked off the year with another major revamp, one that targeted Alcon. The company, acquired in 2010 for $50 billion from Nestle (Vevey, Switzerland), was underperforming in both innovation and profits. Alcon head Jeff George was replaced by Mike Ball, and the unit was pared down to oversight of contact lenses and cataract surgery equipment. The pharmaceutical unit absorbed all eye drug products.

ACTIVE NOVARTIS PROJECTS TRACKED BY INDUSTRIAL INFO

Project ID	Project TIV	Project Name
300072903	$550,000,000.00	SOLID DOSE AND ASEPTIC PHARMACEUTICALS REPLACEMENT PLANT ADDITION
300241510	$250,000,000.00	OPTICAL LENS PLANT UPFIT "PHASE II" AND CENTRAL UTILITIES BUILDING ADD
300231394	$100,000,000.00	OPHTHALMIC SOLUTIONS ASPEX CAMPUS STERILE FILLING/PKG PLANT ADDITION
300267734	$88,000,000.00	GENERIC DERMATOLOGY SEMI-SOLID TOPICALS PLANT FIT UP AND EXPANSION
300263268	$75,830,000.00	VACCINES PLANT REFURBISHMENT
300114284	$50,000,000.00	STERILE INJECTABLES & TABLETS PLANT EXPANSION
300261562	$15,610,000.00	PHARMACEUTICALS INNOVATIVE DRUGS PRODUCTION EXPANSION
300110647	$14,610,000.00	5MW NATURAL GAS CHP PLANT ADDITION
300261550	$7,806,000.00	PHARMACEUTICALS PRODUCTION LINE MODERNIZATION
300263273	$3,345,000.00	PHARMACEUTICAL SOLID DOSE PACKAGING PLANT CLOSURE & DECOMMISSIONING
300246890	$3,000,000.00	OPTICAL LENSES PLANT 4Q16 MAINTENANCE SHUTDOWN
300261234	$2,007,000.00	PHARMACEUTICALS PACKAGING AND WAREHOUSE FACILITY EXPANSION
300262679	$2,000,000.00	API PLANT 2016 MAINTENANCE SHUTDOWN
300268206	$2,000,000.00	API PLANT 2017 MAINTENANCE PROGRAM
300257528	$2,000,000.00	OPTICAL SURGICAL MEDICAL DEVICE PLANT 4Q16 MAINTENANCE SHUTDOWN
300240235	$2,000,000.00	STERILE OPTHALMIC (EYE) SOLUTIONS PLANT 4Q16 MAINTENANCE SHUTDOWN
300248089	$2,000,000.00	GENERICS PHARMACEUTICAL PLANT 3Q16 MAINTENANCE S/D
300262307	$1,500,000.00	API'S PLANT 2016 MAINTENANCE PROGRAM
300230856	$1,200,000.00	OPHTHALMIC (EYE) SOLUTIONS 3Q16 MAINTENANCE SHUTDOWN
300260462	$1,115,000.00	AM MAIN INTERMEDIATES AND API'S CMO PLANT CLOSURE
300256743	$1,000,000.00	LENSES & MEDICAL DEVICES PLANT 2016 MAINTENANCE PROGRAM
300114302	$1,000,000.00	STERILE INJECTABLES & TABLETS PLANT UNIT 2 CLOSURE
300255381	$1,000,000.00	INTRAOCULAR MEDICAL PLANT 4Q16 MAINTENANCE SHUTDOWN

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