Cipla appoints Novartis’ Subhanu Saxena as CEO

Subhanu Saxena has left Novartis to join India-based generics company Cipla as its new CEO.

Saxena was previously head of global product strategy and commercialisation at Novartis, where he was also part of the Swiss pharma giant's executive committee, and will take up his new position from February 1, 2013.

Prior to this most recent position at Novartis, Saxena was CEO and country president of Novartis UK.

He also has wide non-healthcare experience, working with companies such as Citicorp, the Boston Consulting Group and PepsiCo across markets in Europe, North America, Africa and Asia.

Cipla's chair Dr Yusuf Hamied said: “We are delighted to have found such a good match for Cipla in Subhanu. Cipla has a strong vision for the future. I am confident Subhanu will build on Cipla's core values to deliver the next phase of growth, competitiveness and return on shareholder value.”

Saxena joins at a time of growth for Cipla, with the company recently announcing plans to expand its footprint in Africa.

Cipla has also been busy challenging big pharma patents, and in September won a four-year battle to market its own version of Roche's cancer drug Tarceva (erlotinib). The verdict followed another recent win, that this time saw it granted permission to market a generic version of Pfizer's Sutent (sunitinib malate) after challenging the drug's patent.