MedNous

Novartis sees squeeze on margins

Thursday 26 January 2012

Country: Switzerland

Novartis expects to see a squeeze on margins this year as prices fall for drugs that have recently lost patent protection and more money is invested in new product development. This follows a particularly difficult fourth quarter during which operating income was hit by product cancellations and the suspension of production at a manufacturing site in the US.

“We experienced some disappointments in the fourth quarter with Tekturna/Rasilez and with the need to improve our quality standards at some manufacturing sites,” Joseph Jimenez, the Novartis chief executive, said in a prepared statement that accompanied the release of the company's 2011 results. But he went on to say that Novartis is well-positioned to cope with the loss of patents for old drugs and to discover ne