Novartis Is Working on the Next Wave of Obesity Drugs, CEO Says

Novartis AG Chief Executive Officer Vas Narasimhan says the drugmaker aims to compete in the growing obesity market by designing next-generation treatments.

“We think there’s opportunity to improve,” Narasimhan said in an interview with David Rubenstein for Bloomberg TV. “It’s very early stages within Novartis, but can we come up with drugs that better preserve muscle? Or may be easier to take, and more infrequently taken?”

Novartis missed the first wave of blockbuster shots for weight loss, dominated by rivals Novo Nordisk A/S and Eli Lilly & Co., a market Bloomberg Intelligence estimates will reach $80 billion by 2030. ...