Novartis CEO Aims to Double China Sales on Faster Drug Approvals
- Pharma giant hopes for progress on therapies like CAR-T
- China included in Phase 3 drug programs, Narasimhan says
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New Novartis AG Chief Executive Officer Vas Narasimhan aims to more than double the pharmaceutical giant’s sales in China over the next five years and gain faster reimbursement for cutting-edge cancer drugs as the country speeds up approvals.
Novartis hopes to win a “couple of” approvals for new medicines in 2018, Narasimhan said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Beijing. That follows agreements in China to pay for eight of its drugs. Talks with the Chinese regulator show the company’s ambition to accelerate the introduction of new technologies, such as CAR-T treatments for cancer.