Global drugmaker Novartis will spin off its generics and biosimilars company, Sandoz, to focus on "innovative medicines" as pharmaceutical companies selling generics struggle to compete with the high costs of brand name drugs.
"For Novartis, the separation of Sandoz would further support our strategy of building a focused innovative medicines company," Vas Narasimhan, MD, Novartis CEO, said in an Aug. 25 news release. "In addition, both companies would be able to focus on maximizing value creation for their shareholders by prioritizing capital and resource allocation, employing separate capital structure policies, and increasing management focus on their respective business needs."
Like Novartis, Sandoz will be headquartered in Switzerland.