The Japanese unit of Novartis AG made an official statement, revealing that Mr. Dirk Kosche was named by the company as chief of Novartis business located in Japan. Mr. Kosche is to become a successor of Yoshiyasu Ninomiya.
The announcement comes at a moment when it became clear that the Japanese division of the company was involved in drug studies that had to be independent. As reported by Bloomberg, the Japanese unit of Novartis AG said in its statement that rebuilding of the company should be a top priority for Novartis, meeting “legal obligations” and executing operations ethically.
The clinical trials, in which the Japanese unit took part, have become a scandal due to the fact they were supposed to be independent. It became clear that an employee of the company had participated in the studies of one of the most popular blood-pressure drugs of Novartis – the Diovan drug. Of course, the information that Novartis had flawed the research, was rejected by the executives of the company, but still the situation was considered as a conflict of interests.
Now the company is trying to shake the management in Japan in order to clear its name from the problems in the past. In its statement, Novartis AG reported that Francis Bouchard was appointed as a head of the oncology unit in Japan. The company also said that the chief of a holding company in the region will be replaced by Mr. Michael Ferris.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, at a news conference in Tokyo, Mr. David Epstein, who is the current chief of the companys pharmaceuticals division said: “We regret very much the harm the issue causes the credibility of clinical research in Japan. We now have compelling evidence that its time to take further action. We fully expect to find other clinical trials that are problematic. Our company culture and the way we do business in Japan needs to change urgently.”
Mr. Epstein refused to provide any more details about the length of the moratorium and about the number of trials which have been postponed.
Novartis AG fell by 0.34% to CHF 74.20 by 14:10 GMT in Zurich, marking a one-year change of +10.08%. The company is valued at CHF 202.41 billion.
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