New Novartis will be a lean, mean, profit-making machine

FiercePharma | Tracy Staton

Remember how Novartis CEO Joe Jimenez vowed to improve the Swiss drugmaker's margins? Would have been there and done that, if the company's recent spate of deals had been done last year--by 2.5 percentage points, Novartis now says.

The margin improvements were among a constellation of developments Novartis talked up for investors at an event in Basel Wednesday. "We have shaped this company in a way that positions us incredibly well for next 10 years," Jimenez said (as quoted by Reuters).

Of course margins weren't the only driver for the $25 billion dealfest that gave GlaxoSmithKline's cancer portfolio to Novartis in exchange for the latter's vaccines business, tossed Novartis' animal health unit to Eli Lilly, and set up a consumer-health joint venture between Novartis and GSK. The new structure also cuts away distractions to focus Novartis more tightly on three key areas: branded drugs, eye care products, and generics.

Novo Nordisk to double revenue within a decade

(Reuters) - Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk, the world's biggest insulin maker, expects to more than double its annual revenue within a decade, its deputy chief executive Kaare Schultz told Reuters.

More than half a billion people are expected to be living with diabetes by 2035, up from 382 million now, according to the International Diabetes Federation. Most sufferers have type 2 diabetes - linked to obesity and lack of exercise - and the epidemic is spreading as more people in the developing world adopt Western, urban lifestyles.

Schultz, 53, was promoted to Novo Nordisk deputy chief executive in January from his previous role as head of sales and production. He is in the running to succeed 59-year-old Chief Executive Lars Rebien Sorensen, whose contract ends in 2019.

"Today we handle more than 20 million patients. In 10 years, hopefully will treat about 40 million patients," Schultz said in an interview at the firm's new 1 billion crown ($182 million) headquarters in Bagsvaerd on the outskirts of Copenhagen, a spiral complex inspired by the shape of an insulin molecule.

"We expect to continue to increase (revenue) by around 10 percent per year over the next 10 to 20 years," he said.