Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG said three members of its executive committee would leave the company following the completion of transactions with GlaxoSmithKline and Eli Lilly to divest three units.Novartis agreed on a series of deals worth over $25 billion in April, which include hiving off three smaller units - animal health, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and vaccines. It said these divisions lacked the global scale to compete in what it described as a "brutal" new world of healthcare spending.As part of the overhaul, Novartis is selling its animal health business to Eli Lilly for $5.4 billion and its vaccines excluding flu to GSK for $7.1 billion. It will also form a joint venture with GSK for its OTC unit.Last week, EU antitrust regulators approved Lilly's purchase of the animal health division.
Novartis AG provides healthcare solutions. The Company is a multinational group of companies specializing in the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of a range of healthcare products led by pharmaceuticals. Shares of NVS fell by 3.09% or $-2.86/share to $89.73. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $72.77 and as high as $95.50. On average, 1250710 shares of NVS exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 2132585.
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