Rumors of a possible Alcon sale swirl

As Alcon revenues continue a 2-year decline, Novartis is reportedly considering selling its eye care division.

In January 2016, Novartis CEO Joe Jimenez set an end of year deadline to improve sales, telling the Financial Times, “We are focused on executing that turnaround plan. We haven’t thought what happens if it fails because we believe we can do this. If we get to the end of the year [without a return to growth] then we have to ask a harder question.”

Despite a recent reorganization, sales continue to fall due to competition from generics and the high cost of their pharmaceuticals, according to Novartis, leading financial news groups to speculate on the company’s next steps. Novartis could either attempt to expand or innovate new avenues within Alcon or sell it for an estimated $5.7 billion cash-in-hand. These funds could be invested in the Novartis pipeline or used for additional marketing of their newest releases.

Novartis invested heavily in the launch of 2 new drugs: Entresto, a combination therapy for heart failure, and Cosentyx, a biologic for psoriasis. Both launched in 2015 and were anticipated to be blockbusters. While the Cosentyx rollout lived up to expectations, Entresto sales have not been as high as investors had hoped.

Overall revenue remains steady even though a generic of Novartis’ blockbuster cancer drug Gleevec hit the market earlier this year.