Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Novartis' Vasella - New Rules


Novartis is preparing a companywide restructuring aimed at reducing layers of management and bureaucracy, Chief Executive Daniel Vasella said in an interview with the WSJ.

Dr. Vasella, a Swiss physician whose views on the pharmaceutical business are closely watched, said Novartis must become less bureaucratic to handle new challenges facing the drug industry: aggressive competition from generics companies; increasingly safety-conscious regulators; and more cost-conscious payers such as state health-care systems and insurers.

Novartis plans to disclose more about the restructuring by mid-December and elaborate further in February, Dr. Vasella said. The restructuring will involve some job cuts.

One new rule Dr. Vasella has set: There should be no more than six layers of employees in any Novartis division, from the lowest-ranking person up to the division head. Novartis has four divisions: pharmaceuticals, generics, vaccines and diagnostics, and consumer health, which includes over-the-counter medicines.

More at the WSJ

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