Novartis shareholders vote in favour of Sandoz spin-off
Reuters
Published Sep 15, 2023 05:33AM ET
Updated Sep 15, 2023 05:45AM ET
By Ludwig Burger
FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Novartis shareholders on Friday voted in favour of spinning off the Swiss company's generic-drugs business Sandoz, with investors holding 99.7% of the represented capital supporting the complete separation.
Ahead of the vote at the extraordinary general meeting, Sandoz CEO Richard Saynor said the new company is eyeing the launch of at least five additional biologic drugs over the longer term.
In a bid to enhance Sandoz's investor appeal ahead of its market debut on Oct. 4, Saynor said his ambition was to improve the development pipeline of currently 25 biosimilars, which are cheaper versions of off-patent biologic drugs made from modified living cells.
"When I joined (in 2019), there were less than eight biologics in the pipeline. Today, there's 25. And that journey will continue. I'll be happier when it's over 30," Saynor told Reuters in an interview.
Sandoz is currently the world's second-largest maker of biosimilars behind Pfizer (NYSE:PFE). Saynor said dethroning the U.S. pharma giant, whose focus is on developing new drugs rather than copying others, is "very much" his goal.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.