Stronger together

Published on 14/12/2023

Dear Readers,

When I had the chance to contribute to the development of our cancer medicine Gleevec around the millennium, one major lesson learned was that our success does not rely solely on our ability to achieve scientific excellence and pursue new research avenues, but also on finding partners who are as passionate about our goals as we are.

In the case of Gleevec, our breakthrough depended as much on the work of external scientists and medical experts as on the work we did in our labs. One of the key external experts was Brian Druker, who together with Alex Matter from Novartis believed in the potential of the molecule developed by Juerg Zimmermann.

The work of the physician-scientist, who understands the molecular potential of our drugs and also works closely with patients in the clinic, is of utmost importance – for us, the industry and medicine in general. Without their contributions, many of today’s medical achievements would not have been possible.

This is not to put our contribution into perspective or downplay it, but to drive home the point that our science can only reach its full potential if we continue to collaborate with the best institutions and scientific and medical experts and stay focused on our mission to improve and extend people’s lives. This requires us to be open and to keep on exploring all options.

Our teams have done this time and again, allowing for the development of new medicines that help patients who otherwise would have no or limited medical options to regain control over their lives. Nothing could be more gratifying than to see a patient living up to their potential thanks to a new medicine.

As this issue of live magazine shows, our collaboration with Dr. Guillaume Canaud in Paris has led to the development of a drug for a rare indication by reusing an existing cancer treatment from our portfolio. With the introduction of a Compassionate Use program designed to help patients in need, we were able to assist Canaud in this effort and open a new treatment route for thousands of patients.

Likewise, our teams from Global Health and Novartis Biomedical Research are now in the process of preparing the ground for the development of a novel in vivo sickle cell gene therapy, designed to help patients who otherwise would not have the chance to get hold of a potentially curative treatment.

For this project, we are not only collaborating with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We are also actively on the lookout for research and clinical partners in Africa, where this therapy could one day make a massive difference for tens of thousands of patients for whom sickle cell disease is synonymous with a death sentence or a life in pain.

The same spirit of openness and willingness to collaborate is also crucial when it comes to the work in our own labs. The power of our discovery unit does not rest on the shoulders of a few. Its potency only comes to life when its researchers start to build networks and seek the best partners to advance their projects.

Our new governance system will help us to streamline decision making and pick the most promising projects going forward. But innovation will also rest on the passion and ability to forge connections between individual scientists who believe in their research and have the stamina to move forward.

One of our cancer research projects, which is a sort of follow-up to Gleevec, would not have been possible without the passionate work done by our scientists in early discovery, as well as our colleagues in classic and computational chemistry. Their work is testimony to the scientific curiosity and rigor that reigns in our organization.

The same spirit to innovate is also part and parcel of our manufacturing units. On our Klybeck site in Basel, which was home to Ciba-Geigy, where our predecessor company laid the basis of Switzerland’s industrialization more than a century ago, our colleagues from Novartis Operations have transformed a small pilot plant into a fully functional mid-scale production site.

This not only speaks of the ingeniousness of our technicians and production specialists. It is also a clear sign that the spirit of openness and collaboration can be found across our company and beyond. By realizing and executing on the idea that we are stronger together, I am confident that Novartis will remain among the leaders in the pharmaceutical industry for years to come.

Joerg Reinhardt

Chair of the Board of Directors