Novartis's Vasella Says 'Blockbuster' Drugs in Development
Bloomberg News
April 25, 1999, 6:02 a.m. PT
Basel, Switzerland, April 25 (Bloomberg) -- Novartis AG,
the world's No. 2 drugmaker, has several key drugs in
development with so-called ''blockbuster'' potential -- those
capable of reaching annual sales of 2 billion Swiss francs
($1.3 billion) or more in annual sales -- although no
replacements for its current best-selling hypertension drug
Diovan and organ-transplant drug Sandimmun are immediately in
sight, Chief Executive Daniel Vasella said in an interview
with SonntagsZeitung newspaper. The Swiss company is developing
Starlix, a treatment for diabetes, and three other drugs with
great sales potential, which should be on the market in the
next few years, although they may not be able to make up for
the loss of patents on Diovan and Sandimunn, he said. The
company lags its competitors in the area of lifestyle drugs,
Vasella said, although it is developing an improved version of
Viagra, the anti-impotence drug produced by Pfizer Inc., the
second-biggest drugmaker in the U.S.
Novartis last week unexpectedly posted a 0.6 percent
decline in first-quarter sales as demand for its
seeds and pesticides fell, sending its shares down 7 percent
in the week.
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