- Novartis appoints experienced
pharmaceuticals industry leader with strong marketing skills to
drive oncology business further
- Novartis appoints ad interim
leader for its Global Drug Development organization
Basel, January 11, 2018
- Novartis announced today that Elizabeth
(Liz) Barrett, currently Global President Oncology at Pfizer, Inc.,
has been appointed CEO Novartis Oncology and a member of the
Executive Committee of Novartis, effective February 1, 2018. She
will be based in Basel. Mrs. Barrett succeeds Bruno Strigini who
decided to retire from Novartis for personal reasons.
Vasant (Vas) Narasimhan, designated CEO of
Novartis, said: "Liz is a highly accomplished and recognized
oncology and people leader with an impressive record of building
successful business organizations in the US, Europe and globally.
She has been instrumental in creating new commercial models,
driving innovation in close partnership with research and
development and leveraging business development opportunities. Her
long-time commercial pharma industry experience, marketing skills
and perspectives make Liz a great fit to further develop our
oncology business."
Mrs. Barrett said: "I feel honored to join
Novartis, a recognized pioneer in the oncology area. It is key to
me to contribute to transformative advancements in oncology, and to
serve in a highly impactful leadership role to this end."
Mrs. Barrett has held numerous leadership
positions in the pharmaceutical industry as well as in the consumer
sector. In her most recent role at Pfizer, she led the oncology
business through a significant period of growth achieved in less
than three years. Before joining Pfizer in 2009, she worked at
Cephalon, Inc. and Johnson & Johnson. She started her career at
Kraft Foods Group, Inc. in 1984.
Mrs. Barrett is a US citizen and has lived and
worked in the US and Europe. She obtained an MBA in Marketing from
the Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia and a BSc in Business
Administration from the University of Louisiana.
Novartis also announced today that Robert
Kowalski, Pharm.D., Head of Global Regulatory Affairs, will assume
ad interim leadership of the Drug Development Organization,
effective February 1, 2018. Dr. Kowalski has been Head of Global
Regulatory Affairs for Novartis since February 2016 and has played
an important leadership role in securing approvals for several
breakthrough medicines including our revolutionary CAR-T therapy
KymriahTM. The
definitive Head of Global Drug Development will be announced in due
course.
Disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995, . Forward-looking statements can generally be
identified by words such as "effective," "will," "to further
develop," or similar expressions, or by express or implied
discussions regarding potential future sales or earnings of the
Novartis Group. You should not place undue reliance on these
statements. Such forward looking statements are based on our
current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are
subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties.
Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or
should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may
vary materially from those set forth in the forward looking
statements. There can be no guarantee that Novartis will be
commercially successful in the future, or achieve any particular
financial results. In particular, our expectations could be
affected by, among other things: regulatory actions or delays or
government regulation generally; the potential that the strategic
benefits, synergies or opportunities expected from the significant
reorganizations of recent years may not be realized or may take
longer to realize than expected; the uncertainties inherent in the
research and development of new healthcare products; our ability to
obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection on
key products; safety, quality or manufacturing issues; global
trends toward health care cost containment, including government,
payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures;
uncertainties regarding actual or potential legal proceedings; and
other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form
20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of
this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any
forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise.
About Novartis
Novartis provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the
evolving needs of patients and societies. Headquartered in Basel,
Switzerland, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet
these needs: innovative medicines, cost-saving generic and
biosimilar pharmaceuticals and eye care. Novartis has leading
positions globally in each of these areas. In 2016, the Group
achieved net sales of USD 48.5 billion, while R&D throughout
the Group amounted to approximately USD 9.0 billion. Novartis Group
companies employ approximately 121,000 full-time-equivalent
associates. Novartis products are sold in approximately 155
countries around the world. For more information, please visit
http://www.novartis.com.
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