Hunting for Tech Ties, a Swiss Drugmaker Goes to Silicon Valley

Novartis AG is looking to strengthen its ties with tech startups as giants like Apple Inc., Google and Amazon.com Inc. advance rapidly into the health-care field.

The Swiss drugmaker is setting up innovation labs in cities around the world, starting with San Francisco, Chief Digital Officer Bertrand Bodson said in a phone interview. As part of the new project called the Novartis Biome, the company is collaborating with outfits including Mekonos, a developer of cell- and gene-therapy technology, and Medable, a digital health firm. Both are based in the Silicon Valley town of Palo Alto, California.

“Technology, data ...