David Samra, a major shareholder in Novartis (NVS.N), urged a board overhaul to
improve governance, saying the company's acquisition record has been
"disappointing" and pressing chairman Giovanni Caforio to act. Samra said the
board should replace or upgrade the team responsible for deals, calling their
performance at best "mediocre." His demand follows Tuesday's late-stage trial
failure of a muscular dystrophy candidate from Novartis's $12bn acquisition of
US firm Avidity, which sent the stock down more than 10% and wiped nearly $30bn
off market value. Results for the heart drug pelacarsen disappointed investors
the previous day.
