Novartis shuffles leadership as international markets leader departs

SWITZERLAND — Novartis, in the midst of a major organizational overhaul, is facing a significant leadership change as Marie-France Tschudin, the current president of Innovative Medicine International, has chosen to leave the company.

Her departure, scheduled for September 15, marks a notable shift in Novartis’ leadership landscape.

To fill this pivotal role, Novartis has made an intriguing move by appointing Patrick Horber, M.D., who was leading AbbVie’s megablockbuster immunology franchise. Dr. Horber’s transition to the international president role at Novartis is expected to occur later this year.

In tandem with this leadership shuffle, Novartis has made the decision to eliminate the title of chief commercial officer (CCO).

A Novartis spokesperson explained this move, stating, “Both Presidents, U.S. and International, will partner strongly to lead the commercial activities at Novartis, especially for certain key commercial decisions where one aligned Novartis view is critical. Hence the CCO role per se is no longer required.”

Notably, Novartis had introduced its current commercial business structure, which organizes the company based on geography rather than therapeutic areas, in April of the previous year as part of a comprehensive organizational revamp. Prior to this, Tschudin had overseen the company’s non-oncology portfolio.

The restructuring had led to the departure of Tschudin’s counterpart in the oncology division, Susanne Schaffert, Ph.D. Additionally, Shreeram Aradhye, M.D., was brought in to replace John Tsai, M.D., as the chief medical officer.

Alongside these executive changes, approximately 8,000 staff-level positions within Novartis had been affected.

With Tschudin’s departure, only two C-level executives, aside from CEO Vas Narasimhan, have remained in their respective positions for at least three years.

Harry Kirsch has served as the company’s chief financial officer since 2013, while Klaus Moosmayer, Ph.D., has held the role of chief ethics, risk, and compliance officer since 2018.

Tschudin expressed her sentiments about leaving Novartis, saying, “I leave Novartis with a strong sense of pride and accomplishment in how we have delivered on our purpose.”

CEO Vas Narasimhan also acknowledged Tschudin’s contributions during the commercial model restructuring, thanking her for her nearly seven years of “extraordinary leadership” at Novartis.

Tschudin’s departure comes at a time when Novartis is shifting its focus toward the U.S. market. This “U.S.-first” approach, unveiled a year ago, prioritizes the U.S. market in the company’s decision-making processes related to research, dealmaking, commercialization, and patient services.

Victor Bulto, Novartis’ U.S. president, emphasized this strategy during the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in January.

Historically, Novartis has maintained a strong international presence, but external factors such as pricing pressures and generic competition have slowed growth outside the U.S.

In the first half of 2023, Novartis saw a 12% growth in sales of innovative medicines in the U.S., reaching US$8.6 billion, while the rest of the world achieved a 6% growth rate at constant currencies, totaling US$13.2 billion.

Patrick Horber, the incoming international president, is a Swiss native who studied medicine at the University of Zurich.

He has spent nearly 11 years at AbbVie and was recently promoted to president of immunology in July.

AbbVie boasts the world’s largest inflammatory disease franchise, with US$12.4 billion in sales in the first half of 2023, and immunology drugs account for a significant portion of the company’s overall sales.

AbbVie is actively countering biosimilars to Humira while introducing Skyrizi and Rinvoq to replace off-patent TNF blockers.

While the exact timeline for Dr. Horber’s arrival at Novartis remains undisclosed, Mukul Mehta, the CFO of international markets, will lead the unit on an interim basis.

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