Basel, Switzerland-based Novartis may sell its eye care business Alcon, reports Reuters.
The drugmaker acquired the eye division from Nestle in 2010 for $51 billion.
Last October, Novartis CEO Joe Jimenez said it would take longer than expected to turn Alcon's slow business around, according to the report. The company cites failure to innovate and inconsistent customer service as the source of Alcon's problems.
"Alcon has not developed over the past two years as we had expected," said Novartis Chairman Joerg Reinhardt in an interview with the Swiss publication SonntagsZeitung. "In the long run, the question arises as to whether we are the best owner for Alcon."
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