What specific drug trial setbacks triggered the shareholder's call for a Novartis board shake-up?

Novartis suffered back-to-back late-stage drug trial failures: first, its heart drug pelacarsen delivered disappointing results, causing a 3% stock drop; second, a muscle-wasting disorder drug acquired through its $12 billion takeover of U.S. firm Avidity failed a late-stage study, triggering a more than 10% share decline and wiping nearly $30 billion off its market value.

Why does major shareholder David Samra believe Novartis needs board-level changes, and what is his main criticism of the company's leadership?

David Samra, managing director at Artisan Partners and a founding partner of International Value Group, argues that successive chairmen have failed Novartis on acquisitions and that the board must change how it oversees deals — specifically by improving the team responsible for M&A — because their track record has been 'uninspiring at best' and 'not very good', having destroyed value, as evidenced by the Avidity acquisition collapsing to zero and the rapid write-down of the 2024 MorphoSys deal; he explicitly absolves CEO Vas Narasimhan of blame, praising his operational performance, and instead holds the board accountable for insufficient scrutiny over deals and for relying on adjusted performance metrics in compensation that exclude writedowns rather than reflecting 'real economic outcomes'.

Major Novartis Shareholder Calls for Board Shake-Up After Drug Trial Setbacks

Sep 10, 2026

Artisan Partners urges Novartis board changes after failed drug trials wiped nearly $30 billion from its market value. The shareholder criticizes the company's M&A strategy and compensation structure, though management insists financial guidance remains unchanged.

reuters

2026-09-10

Major Novartis Shareholder Calls for Board Shake-Up After Drug Trial Setbacks

2026-09-10

Novartis investors turn spotlight on M&A after trial setbacks

Major Novartis Shareholder Calls for Board Shake-Up After Drug Trial Setbacks

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