Novartis Looks to Sharpen Focus by Shedding Drugs in Cancer, Too

Novartis AG is looking to divest some cancer treatments as the Swiss pharma giant culls less promising medicines in its pipeline to focus on the most innovative drugs.

In addition to licensing deals, the company is considering partnerships for the programs, oncology chief Liz Barrett said in an interview in London. No final decisions have been made.

Novartis has dropped about one-fifth of its research projects under Chief Executive Officer Vas Narasimhan’s strategy to boost competitiveness. While cancer still attracts the most research dollars within Novartis, the drugmaker isn’t sparing that business.

“Even within oncology we have to be focused,” ...