Novartis Sticks With Bolt-Ons As Biotech Bubble Bursts

CEO Keeps Faith In Gene Therapy

Rather than major M&A, CEO Vas Narasimhan has told Scrip that Novartis will carry on doing development and licensing deals and while the firm has noted that the valuations of prospective biotech deals have fallen, "they still remain relatively high."

Vas Narasimhan
Vas Narasimhan • Source: Novartis

With the biotech sector suffering from a significant slowdown and funding proving tricky for many of the smaller players, Novartis AG is keeping its eyes firmly open for deals, although CEO Vas Narasimhan thinks some companies and projects remain overvalued.

Speaking to Scrip as the Swiss major unveiled a solid set of financials for the fourth quarter which saw sales...

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