Novartis Plans $2.5 Billion Share Buyback as Pipeline Grows

Novartis AG plans to buy back as much as $2.5 billion of shares as the Swiss drugmaker expects its pipeline of new drug candidates to fuel sales growth.

The pharma giant expects key data and advances on five experimental cancer medicines that are in mid- to late-stage clinical trials next year, Novartis said Tuesday ahead of a presentation to investors. That includes canakinumab, a potential treatment for non-small cell lung cancer.