Vasant Kalathur Narasimhan

M.D.
Vasant Narasimhan
Born (1976-08-26) August 26, 1976
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of Chicago
Harvard Medical School
Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government
OccupationCEO of Novartis
Spouse
Srishti Gupta
​
(m. 2003)​
Children2
Medical career
ProfessionPhysician
InstitutionsNovartis

Vasant "Vas" Narasimhan (born August 26, 1976) is an Indian-American physician and the chief executive officer of Novartis.[1][2][3][4] He succeeded Joseph Jimenez who left Novartis in 2018.[5] He worked in McKinsey & Co and Sandoz before joining Novartis.[6]

Early life

Narasimhan was born in Pittsburgh in 1976 to parents who originated from Tamil Nadu, India.[7] His parents came to the US from India in the 1960’s and early 1970’s and started the Shri Venkateshwara temple in Penn Hills, Pittsburgh which he has stated was influential in his upbringing. Narasimhan's mother was a nuclear engineer for Public Service Electric and Gas Company and his father was an executive at Hoeganaes Corporation.[8][9]

Narasimhan received his bachelor's degree in biological sciences from University of Chicago, his M.D. from Harvard Medical School and his master's degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government.[10]

During his undergraduate and post-graduate studies, he worked on public health programs including the National HIV Treatment Program in Botswana, the American Red Cross in The Gambia and child poverty in India. Paul Farmer and Jim Kim were his mentors and thesis advisors.[11][12][13][14][15][8][9]

Career

Early career

After his first year of medical school, Vas went to Kolkata, India to work with street children and child laborers for 3 months. He later worked on malaria and HIV/AIDS in Tanzania and he did his thesis on multidrug resistant tuberculosis in Peru.[9][16][6]

Narasimhan joined McKinsey & Co, as a consultant and engagement manager for two years and was recruited by Novartis in 2005.[16][6]

He spent 8 years working in Novartis Vaccines, at the time a non-profit division focused on developing vaccines for children and patients around the world and served as the Global Head of Development, Novartis Vaccines in the US between 2012 and 2014 before moving to Sandoz as Global Head of Biopharmaceuticals and Oncology Injectables.[6][17]

From 2014 to 2016, he served as the Global Head of Development for Novartis Pharmaceuticals. From 2016 to 2018, he held the role of Global Head of Drug Development and Chief Medical Officer within the company.[6]

Novartis Chief Executive (2017 – present)

On September 5, 2017, Narasimhan was named CEO of Novartis, succeeding Joseph Jimenez.[5][18][19]

He publicly stated his desire to focus Novartis from a diversified company to a pure-play medicines company.[20] He also advocated for development of key technologies and capabilities in advanced therapy platforms, such as cell therapy and gene therapy,[21] RNA therapeutics, and radioligand therapy.[22][23]

As part of his strategy, Narasimhan has divested the joint consumer healthcare venture to GSK,[24] the spin-off of Alcon,[25] and the exit of a stake in Roche[26][20] as well as pushed for the acquisition of Advanced Accelerator Applications, Endocyte, AveXis, and The Medicines Company.[27][28][29]

In February 2018, three months after becoming CEO, Narasimhan apologized to Novartis employees after it was revealed that Novartis had signed a $1.2 million yearlong contract with President Donald Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen's consulting firm in February 2017.[30][31]

In 2019, in response to an FDA investigation about manipulated data involving Zolgensma, Narasimhan defended the company's decision to delay informing the FDA and also announced the company was forcing out scientists who were involved in the manipulated data.[32][33][34]

As part of a "more comprehensive commitment to ethics”, Narasimhan has moved to settle long standing bribery and anti-trust cases facing Novartis in the US, China, Vietnam and Greece.[35][36][37]

Memberships

Narasimhan is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine and a member of the board of fellows of Harvard Medical School.[38][39] Since February 2023, he serves as the chair, and is also former board member and treasurer of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).[40][41]

He also serves on the board of African Parks, a nonprofit conservation organization, and since December 2022 is the chair of the board.[42][43]

Recognition

In 2015, Fortune listed Narasimhan 7th in their '40 under 40' list.[44]

Personal life

Narasimhan married Srishti Gupta in 2003, after meeting her at Harvard while organizing an Asian cultural festival.[45] They have two children and live in Basel, Switzerland.[17] Narasimhan is a vegetarian.[46][47]

References

  1. ↑ Phadnis, Aneesh (2017-09-05). "Indian-origin Vasant Narasimhan to head $48 billion pharma giant Novartis". Business Standard India. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  2. ↑ Bisserbe, Noemie (2018-02-18). "Novartis CEO Steers Drug Maker Back to R&D". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  3. ↑ Phadnis, Aneesh (5 September 2017). "Indian-origin Vasant Narasimhan to head $48 billion pharma giant Novartis". Business Standard India. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  4. ↑ Dandekar, Vikas; Sukumar, C. R. (21 August 2018). "There's an explosion of data & digital opportunities in Indian healthcare: Vasant Narasimhan, CEO, Novartis". The Economic Times. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  5. 1 2 "Novartis CEO Jimenez to Quit, Giving Reins to Harvard Doctor". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg Technology. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Executive Profile – Vasant Narasimhan". Bloomberg. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  7. ↑ Phadnis, Aneesh (September 4, 2017). "Indian-origin Vasant Narasimhan to head $48 billion pharma giant Novartis". Business Standard. Retrieved July 8, 2022. Narasimhan, 41, doctor from Harvard Medical School, is a second generation immigrant in the US. His parents moved there from Tamil Nadu in the 1970s.
  8. 1 2 "WEDDINGS/CELEBRATIONS; Srishti Gupta, Vasan Narasimhan". The New York Times. March 16, 2003. Retrieved July 8, 2022. His mother, Gira Narasimhan, a former nuclear engineer for Public Service Electric & Gas, is a lecturer in physics at Burlington County Community College in Pemberton, N.J. His father is the vice president for research and development at the Hoeganaes Corporation, a supplier and developer of industrial raw materials, in Cinnaminson, N.J.
  9. 1 2 3 LIVE: Vas Narasimhan (CEO of Novartis) & Dr. Srishti Gupta Narasimhan (Physician Leader in Health and Education) - South Asian Trailblazers, retrieved 2023-11-30
  10. ↑ "Vasant (Vas) Narasimhan" (PDF). Novartis. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  11. ↑ Smale, Will (March 18, 2020). "'It was never my plan to be the boss of a huge company'". BBC. Retrieved July 8, 2022. There was also no let up in his summer holidays, as he was always volunteering overseas; helping to fight malaria in Gambia, tackling tuberculosis in Peru and child poverty in India.
  12. ↑ Gelles, David (August 1, 2019). "Vas Narasimhan of Novartis: 'We Are Not at All Prepared for a Pandemic'". The New York Times. Retrieved July 8, 2022. I went to the University of Chicago and did pre-med. Then for my junior year of college I went to Gambia where I worked with the Red Cross in malaria control. That was my first exposure to public health.
  13. ↑ Mlambo-Ngcuka, Phumzile (August 19, 2019). Redefining Leadership in the Age of the SDGs Accelerating and Scaling Up Delivery Through Innovation and Inclusion (PDF) (Report). Harvard Law School. p. 19. Retrieved July 8, 2022. Narasimhan knows this well. As age 20, Narasimhan took time off of college, to work with the Red Cross in Gambia.
  14. ↑ Narasimhan, Vasant; Brown, Hilary; Pablos-Mendez, Ariel; Adams, Orvill; Dussault, Gilles; Elzinga, Gijs; Nordstrom, Anders; Habte, Demissie; Jacobs, Marian; Solimano, Giorgio; Sewankambo, Nelson; Wibulpolprasert, Suwit; Evans, Timothy; Chen, Lincoln (2004-05-01). "Responding to the global human resources crisis". Lancet. 363 (9419): 1469–1472. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(04)16108-4. ISSN 1474-547X. PMID 15121412. S2CID 34887437.
  15. ↑ Narasimhan, Vasant; Brown, Hilary; Pablos-Mendez, Ariel; Adams, Orvill; Dussault, Gilles; Elzinga, Gijs; Nordstrom, Anders; Habte, Demissie; Jacobs, Marian; Solimano, Giorgio; Sewankambo, Nelson; Wibulpolprasert, Suwit; Evans, Timothy; Chen, Lincoln (2004-05-01). "Responding to the global human resources crisis". The Lancet. 363 (9419): 1469–1472. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(04)16108-4. ISSN 0140-6736. PMID 15121412. S2CID 34887437.
  16. 1 2 "Emerging Pharma Leaders: Vas Narasimhan". PharmExec. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  17. 1 2 "Vasant Narasimhan". Novartis. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  18. ↑ Times, Sarah Neville and Ralph Atkins, Financial. "New Novartis chief eyes productivity revolution". SWI swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 2023-04-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ↑ "Novartis announces CEO Joseph Jimenez to retire from Novartis in 2018. Vasant Narasimhan appointed CEO, effective February 1, 2018". Novartis. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  20. 1 2 Mancini, Donato Paolo (2022-02-04). "Vas Narasimhan: the American trying to reshape Novartis". Financial Times. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  21. ↑ Dunn, Andrew. "Novartis' CEO said gene therapy is a 'nuanced puzzle' everyone is trying to figure out, but he's still committed to the cutting-edge treatments". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  22. ↑ "Novartis CEO eyeing RNA landscape for M&A to expand research 'gameboard'". www.spglobal.com. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  23. ↑ Nathan-Kazis, Josh. "Novartis CEO to Wall Street: Don't Underplay What's Ahead for This Company". www.barrons.com. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  24. ↑ Daniel, Ellen (2018-04-04). "GSK to buyout consumer healthcare business from Novartis for $13bn". Pharmaceutical Technology. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  25. ↑ "Novartis to Spin Off Alcon as CEO Focuses on Finding Drugs". Bloomberg.com. 2018-06-29. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  26. ↑ "Roche to repurchase equity stake held by Novartis". European Pharmaceutical Review. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  27. ↑ "Novartis pushes deeper into nuclear medicine with $2.1 billion deal". Reuters. 2018-10-18. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  28. ↑ Kuchler, Hannah (2021-07-21). "Novartis aims to beat rivals to novel $10bn cancer treatment market". Financial Times. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  29. ↑ Tindera, Michela. "Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan On The Price Of Gene Therapies: 'It's A Challenge We Have To Solve'". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  30. ↑ Okun, Eli (2018-05-11). "Novartis CEO: 'We made a mistake' with Cohen payments". POLITICO. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  31. ↑ "Novartis legal head resigns over Cohen payments". PMLive. 2018-05-16. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  32. ↑ Thomas, Katie (2019-08-07). "Novartis C.E.O. Defends Company's Decision to Withhold False Data From the F.D.A." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  33. ↑ Garde, Damian (August 7, 2019). "Novartis CEO in the hotseat after revelation that his company submitted falsified data to the FDA - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  34. ↑ Tirrell, Meg (2019-08-14). "Novartis fires brother scientists alleged to be involved in data manipulation". CNBC. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  35. ↑ Keystone-SDA/dos (2020-07-02). "Novartis pays big fine for bribing doctors in the US". SWI swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  36. ↑ "Novartis CEO sets aside $700 million to settle doctor bribery lawsuit". Reuters. 2019-07-18. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  37. ↑ "Novartis links bonuses to ethics in bid to rebuild reputation". Reuters. 2018-09-17. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  38. ↑ "Board of Fellows". hms.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  39. ↑ "Authors". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  40. ↑ "Vas Narasimhan of Novartis Becomes Chair of PhRMA Board". phrma.org. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  41. ↑ "Novartis CEO, as incoming PhRMA chair, outlines 3 priorities for pharma after IRA setback". Fiercepharma.
  42. ↑ "Vasant (Vas) Narasimhan". www.africanparks.org. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  43. ↑ "African Parks appoints new Chairperson of the Board". www.africanparks.org. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  44. ↑ "Vas Narasimhan". Fortune. 2015-09-24. Archived from the original on 2018-08-16. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  45. ↑ "WEDDINGS/CELEBRATIONS; Srishti Gupta, Vasant Narasimhan". The New York Times. 2003-03-16. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
  46. ↑ "Vas Narasimhan knew what to expect as Novartis CEO—or so he thought: NYT".
  47. ↑ "Vas Narasimhan - Agenda Contributor". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
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