Novartis to cut 1,960 jobs in restructuring

Zurich: Novartis AG on Friday said it will cut 1,960 jobs as it restructures its US business, reflecting the patent loss of heart drug Diovan in the US and the recent failure to turn high blood pressure medicine aliskiren into a blockbuster.

The restructuring, which should generate annual savings of about $450 million by 2013, will hit Novartis’s earnings during the next six months. A charge of $160 million will be booked in the first quarter, while the lower sales potential of aliskiren will lead to a fourth-quarter charge of $900 million, it said in a statement on Friday. The discontinuation of two experimental drugs will cost it a further $160 million.

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