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In the game of executive chairs triggered by the departure of Sanofi CEO Olivier Brandicourt, Novartis lost its pharmaceutical director, Paul Hudson. But she was ready with a replacement: Marie-France Tschudin, who joined the company in January 2017 from Celgene.
Tschudin takes over from Hudson as Novartis announces several new launches and develops its portfolio in half a dozen therapeutic areas, while integrating digital with all of its operations. She will report to the CEO Vas Narasimhan, who is rather new in his role and who works to give his own stamp to the company.
In the meantime, her promotion to the presidency of Novartis Pharmaceuticals places Tschudin among the top women in the pharmaceutical sector. She joins Susanne Schaffert, Head of Novartis Oncology, and Shannon Klinger, General Counsel, on the Executive Committee of the Swiss Pharmaceutical Group. This trio of leaders makes Novartis' leadership team more diverse in terms of gender than most other major pharmaceutical groups.
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It will have a lot to do with Novartis, however, as it moves into the emerging gene therapy arena while deploying new drugs and following recent launches in more traditional areas. Last month, Narasimhan announced 25 new launches, planning its pharmaceutical unit over the next few years, including 10 potential blockbusters.
Zolgensma, the newest gene therapy by Novartis, is the most expensive drug ever sold. Treatment of spinal muscular atrophy, valued at $ 2.1 million, tests new waters in value-based payor agreements and installment payment models – not to mention price tags several million dollars. And then there is Mayzent, the first drug approved to treat secondary progressive multiple sclerosis.
Meanwhile, Tschudin will assume some of the responsibility of promoting Narasimhan's ambitions in digital, big data and artificial intelligence, one of his top priorities for the drug maker.
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Tschudin started in biopharmacy as a sales representative for Janssen-Cilag's Johnson & Johnson unit, before joining Celgene, where she worked for 10 years before joining Novartis. She left her position as head of Celgene's hematology business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to take the reins of Novartis' pharmaceutical business in Europe. After that, and until Friday, Tschudin was president of Novartis' newly acquired radiotherapeutic company, Advanced Accelerator Applications.
Now a member of Novartis' Executive Committee, Tschudin reports to CEO Narasimhan, himself a novice in his work. he took office as CEO last January, replacing Joe Jimenez. Hudson, meanwhile, had headed the pharmaceutical unit since 2016, when his boss, David Epstein, left his position.
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In addition to launching Zolgensma, Novartis markets the world's first drug for the treatment of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, Mayzent, and is working to strengthen the activities of its first CAR-T cell therapy, Kymriah, which has gone bankrupt since long time due to manufacturing problems. She has developed into the field of radiation therapy, in part through the acquisition of Advanced Accelerator Applications and the consolidation of her ophthalmic drug franchise, now that her eye-focused business Alcon has become independent, taking her contact lenses and surgical devices therefor.
In announcing Tschudin's promotion, Narasimhan discussed the company's upcoming "transformative" launches and alluded to several other goals for Novartis, including "integrity," as the company strives to overcome scandals of bribes and bribes that have undermined his record years.
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"Marie-France has a strong track record of commercial excellence and a culture of inclusion and integrity based on its exemplary commitment to patients and customers," Narasimhan said in a statement. "She has always been highly respected by the people who work with her and will bring new perspectives to our management team."
With Tschudin, the executive committee of Novartis is now composed of three women. If one believes Hudson's trajectory, Tschudin may well be on the right track for his own position as CEO. Today, Big Pharma only has one woman, Emma Walmsley, from GlaxoSmithKline. Although women CEOs are more common in small biotechnologies, gender parity in biopharmacy is heavily geared towards men.
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