Talk Bio

Novartis is facing heightened investor pressure after several late-stage clinical setbacks raised doubts about its pipeline and acquisition strategy. The biggest blow was the failure of del-desiran, a muscle-wasting-disease drug acquired in Novartis’s $12 billion purchase of Avidity Biosciences. Novartis shares fell about 11% in one day, erasing nearly $30 billion in market value. The setback followed disappointing results for pelacarsen, a cholesterol drug that failed to reduce cardiovascular events in a Phase 3 study. Novartis also paused multiple trials of its experimental cell therapy rap-cel after patient deaths. David Samra of major shareholder Artisan Partners called for changes to the board, stronger acquisition oversight, better board expertise and a dedicated committee to review deals. He criticized Novartis’s acquisition track record but said CEO Vas Narasimhan had done a very good job running the company. Investors are particularly concerned because Novartis has com...