Sandoz names new division head

Sandoz has announced that Richard Francis has been appointed as the new head of the business by parent company Novartis.

Mr. Francis joins Sandoz from Biogen Idec, where he has held roles of increasing responsibility across several therapeutic areas in both Europe and the US over the course of a 13-year career.

He has been appointed as the successor to Jeff George, who is leaving the role in order to become the division head at fellow Novartis company and eye health specialist Alcon, where he takes over from the retiring Kevin Buehler.

As division head of Sandoz, Mr Francis will also become a member of the executive committee of Novartis.

Joseph Jimenez, chief executive officer of Novartis, said: "These new leaders will set the direction for the next phase of growth for our eye care and generics businesses, two of our core growth engines."

Sandoz is one of the largest generics companies in the world, with a broad portfolio of approximately 1,100 high-quality molecules.