Novartis plots new course for Sandoz

During his first full year earnings readout as CEO of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS; SIX:NOVN), Vasant Narasimhan said the company intends to turn Sandoz into "an autonomous entity over the next 18 months that is able to compete as an independent unit within Novartis."

The generics and biosimilars unit has seen declining sales over the past few years. Sandoz net sales fell 3% to $9.9 billion in 2018...