ZURICH, April 24 (Reuters) – Novartis named Harry
Kirsch as its new CFO, betting that his experience of improving
performance at the Swiss drugmaker’s pharmaceuticals division
will help it navigate a wave of patent expiries.

The surprise announcement is the second leadership change in
as many quarters after Chairman Daniel Vasella stepped down in
February after 17 years leading the group.

ZURICH, April 24 (Reuters) – Novartis named Harry
Kirsch as its new CFO, betting that his experience of improving
performance at the Swiss drugmaker’s pharmaceuticals division
will help it navigate a wave of patent expiries.

The surprise announcement is the second leadership change in
as many quarters after Chairman Daniel Vasella stepped down in
February after 17 years leading the group.

ZURICH, April 16 (Reuters) – Actelion, Europe’s
largest biotech company, said it may return to profit growth
sooner than expected after its first-quarter earnings more than
doubled and sales of its mainstay drug beat expectations.

The Swiss company received a boost last year after heart and
lung drug Opsumit, its replacement for top-seller Tracleer, beat
expectations in a clinical trial.

ZURICH (Reuters) – Delays in developing copies of Roche’s top-selling biotech drug are justifying the Swiss company’s decision to stay out of biotech generics to focus on improved, patented versions of its medicines.

Roche faces its first big test at the end of this year when it loses exclusivity in Europe on MabThera, also known as Rituxan, a treatment for blood cancers and rheumatoid arthritis that had sales of 6.7 billion Swiss francs ($7 billion) in 2012.

ZURICH (Reuters) – Roche’s influential Chairman Franz Humer said on Tuesday he will not stand for re-election next year when he will have served 16 years at the helm, potentially accelerating a shift of emphasis towards the Swiss drugmaker’s U.S. operations.

“Roche is in excellent shape and well positioned to meet future challenges. This is a good time to hand over to a successor,” Humer, 66, said in a surprise announcement at the company’s annual general meeting in Basel.

ZURICH, Feb 27 (Reuters) – Holcim expects major
cost cuts to boost profits in 2013 after the Swiss cement maker
reported a bigger-than-expected fourth-quarter loss due partly
to restructuring charges.

Holcim has had to step up a cost-cutting drive to cope with
weak demand in Europe, where sluggish construction markets have
forced cement makers, including France’s Lafarge and
Germany’s HeidelbergCement to shave costs and sell
non-core assets tackle overcapacity.

ROME/ZURICH (Reuters) – Italy’s Health Ministry said on Saturday that tests had found no trace of horse DNA in minced beef meals by Swiss food giant Nestle that were removed from sale on Monday.

Nestle removed the ready-made beef ravioli and tortellini sold under its Buitoni brand from shelves in Italy and Spain and halted production of the meals after its own tests had found more than 1 percent horse DNA in the products.

BASEL (Reuters) – Swiss drugmaker Novartis’s (NOVN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) outgoing chairman Daniel Vasella told shareholders on Friday he had made a mistake in negotiating a $78 million pay-off, as he tried to quell public outrage ahead of a national vote on whether to impose strict limits on corporate pay.

The Basel-based drugmaker scrapped plans this week to pay Vasella 12 million Swiss francs ($13 million) annually for six years to stop him working for rivals, after news of the package sparked a fury of criticism by politicians and investors.

ZURICH, Feb 21 (Reuters) – The year is 2026. Switzerland is
in a state of anarchy. Droves of refugees are fleeing the
war-torn country; the once affluent nation brought to its knees
because in 2013 its people voted to impose the world’s tightest
limits on executive pay.

It is an extreme vision made into a short film commissioned
by leading Swiss business lobby Economiesuisse to try to
persuade people to vote “no” in on an upcoming referendum on
whether to allow shareholders a final veto on executive pay.

ZURICH, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Straumann, the world’s
largest maker of dental implants, sees little prospect of
recovery in the European dental market this year, after profit
almost halved in 2012 hit by a one off-charge.

The Swiss company and local rival Nobel Biocare
are suffering from weak demand in their main market, Europe, as
cash-strapped customers cut back on non-essential dental
treatment.