Vasant Narasimhan

CEO of Novartis, leading its transformation into a pure-play innovative medicines company.

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Key positions and views

A focused 'pure-play' innovative medicines company is the optimal structure for Novartis to leverage its core R&D strengths and drive value.

The European pharmaceutical market is fundamentally broken and unattractive for innovation due to restrictive pricing, slow approvals, and policies that penalize growth.

China has become an indispensable global hub for the pharmaceutical industry, not just as a commercial market but as the fastest location for clinical development.

The future of medicine lies in advanced therapeutic platforms like RNA, cell/gene therapy, and radioligand therapy, which can offer transformative or curative outcomes.

Integrating AI and large-scale data analytics through strategic tech partnerships is essential to accelerate drug discovery and tackle previously 'undruggable' diseases.

Podcast consensus on Narasimhan

Points of consensus

▶Vasant Narasimhan has led a significant strategic transformation at Novartis, shifting it from a diversified conglomerate to a 'pure-play innovative medicines company' by divesting assets like Alcon, Sandoz, and its Roche stake.Apr 2026

▶He views China as a critical and rapidly expanding pharmaceutical market, noting it is the world's second-largest, growing at a double-digit rate, and now leads the world in the speed of clinical trial recruitment.Apr 2026

▶Narasimhan positions Novartis at the forefront of advanced medical technologies, emphasizing its leadership in radioligand therapies, cell and gene therapies, and RNA therapeutics.Apr 2026

▶He consistently highlights the stagnation of the European pharmaceutical market, citing its shrinking size relative to the U.S. and policies that disincentivize growth and delay patient access to new drugs.Apr 2026

Points of debate

▶Narasimhan's assertion that 30-40% of new drugs are not launched in Europe, limiting patient access, presents a strong critique of the continent's regulatory and market environment that European policymakers might contest.Apr 2026

▶The claim that Italian government policy requires pharmaceutical companies to pay back revenue growth could be debated by officials regarding its specific implementation and impact on the broader business climate.Apr 2026

▶His warning that a 'balkanization' of clinical trials between the U.S. and China would be 'hugely damaging' for innovation represents a significant geopolitical concern, though the likelihood and severity of such a split could be viewed differently by policymakers in each country.Apr 2026

▶The decision to close all four Novartis manufacturing plants in the UK, while framed as a business decision, could be debated in terms of its impact on the UK's life sciences sector and supply chain resilience.Apr 2026

Key themes

▶Strategic Refocusing of NovartisApr 2026

Under Narasimhan's leadership, Novartis has undergone a multi-year transformation from a sprawling healthcare conglomerate into a focused, 'pure-play' innovative medicines company. This was achieved by divesting non-core assets, including the Alcon and Sandoz businesses and a stake in Roche, to concentrate on its core R&D strengths.

This strategic pivot increases the company's risk profile by concentrating it in the high-stakes innovative drug development sector, but also positions it to capture higher margins and growth if its R&D pipeline succeeds.

▶Geopolitical Market RealignmentApr 2026

Narasimhan provides a clear-eyed view of a shifting global pharmaceutical landscape, contrasting the stagnant, less-than-half-sized European market with the dynamic, double-digit growth of China. He notes that China now outpaces the US and Europe in clinical trial speed and is a primary launch market, while Europe is increasingly left behind.

Investors should note that Novartis's future growth is heavily tied to its success in the U.S. and China, and the company is actively localizing its supply chain to mitigate geopolitical risks associated with this dependency.

▶Pioneering Advanced Therapeutic PlatformsApr 2026

Narasimhan positions Novartis as a leader in next-generation medical technologies beyond traditional pharmaceuticals. He specifically highlights the company's pioneering work in radioligand therapy, cell and gene therapies capable of 'resetting' the immune system, and RNA therapeutics that could replace daily pills with biannual injections.

The emphasis on these complex, high-cost platforms indicates a strategy focused on treating severe diseases with potentially curative or transformative therapies, targeting markets with significant unmet needs and pricing power.

▶Embracing AI and Data for Drug DiscoveryApr 2026

Narasimhan emphasizes the integration of technology and data science into the core of Novartis's operations. This includes partnering with Google's Isomorphic Labs to tackle 'undruggable' targets with AI, working with Palantir to create a unified company data lake (Data42), and collaborating with Amazon to automate patient services.

These partnerships suggest Novartis is pursuing an ecosystem strategy for innovation, leveraging external tech expertise to accelerate R&D and improve efficiency rather than attempting to build all capabilities in-house.

Source episodes

Sentiment over time

Not enough data for timeline

Changes over time

Pre-Transformation

Narasimhan describes Novartis as a 'sprawling conglomerate' before he initiated a strategic shift.

2017

Novartis begins a partnership with Palantir to build Data42, a centralized data lake for R&D, signaling an early move towards data-driven discovery.

Multi-year Transformation

As CEO, Narasimhan oversees a major strategic refocusing, which includes spinning off the Alcon and Sandoz businesses and selling the company's stake in Roche to become a 'pure-play innovative medicines company'.

Current

Narasimhan positions the focused Novartis as a leader in advanced therapies (radioligand, cell/gene, RNA) and a key partner for tech companies like Google's Isomorphic Labs to solve complex drug discovery challenges.

Recent Geopolitical Adaptation

In response to global shifts, Narasimhan states Novartis is now actively ensuring it has dedicated manufacturing capacity in the U.S. and China for their respective markets to de-risk its supply chain.

Suggested prompts

How does Narasimhan's 'pure-play' strategy for Novartis hedge against geopolitical risks versus a more diversified conglomerate model? &nearr;What are the long-term financial implications of Novartis's heavy investment in high-risk, high-reward platforms like cell/gene therapy and radioligand therapy? &nearr;Given Narasimhan's critical view of the European pharmaceutical market, what specific policy changes would be required to reverse the trend of delayed or non-existent drug launches? &nearr;How does the reliance on partners like Google's Isomorphic Labs and Palantir for core R&D functions impact Novartis's proprietary data and long-term competitive advantage? &nearr;

Key concepts

Novartis Corporate Strategy 4 ep Advanced Therapeutics 4 ep European Pharmaceutical Market 3 ep China Pharmaceutical Market 3 ep Geopolitics & Supply Chain 3 ep AI & Data in Pharma 2 ep Clinical Trials 2 ep US Market 2 ep

Notable quotes

“The idea was to focus as a pure play innovative medicines company.”

Vasant Narasimhan · Vasant Narasimhan - CEO of Novartis | Podcast | In Good Company | Norges Bank Investment Management

“Europe, population slightly larger than the United States, its market size is half or even less than half of the U.S. and not growing”

Vasant Narasimhan · Vasant Narasimhan - CEO of Novartis | Podcast | In Good Company | Norges Bank Investment Management

“the pace of clinical trial start and recruitment in China is now the fastest in the world. It's outpacing Europe, certainly outpacing the US.”

Vasant Narasimhan · Vasant Narasimhan - CEO of Novartis | Podcast | In Good Company | Norges Bank Investment Management

“Another area I'm very excited about is an area called RNA therapeutics. It allows you to give medicines that you usually take every day. You only need to take them every six months or maybe once a year.”

Vasant Narasimhan · Vasant Narasimhan - CEO of Novartis | Podcast | In Good Company | Norges Bank Investment Management

Report last updated: Apr 21, 2026

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