Is This How We'll Cure Cancer?

Is This How We'll Cure Cancer?: Progress like this explains why Jimenez is focusing his pharmaceutical giant on a simple mission: cure cancer. Already cancer drugs represent $11.2 billion of Novartis’ $58 billion in annual sales, but he says he’s “doubling down” on the cancer business. In April he did a deal that essentially traded Novartis’ unprofitable vaccine and consumer businesses and up to $9 billion in cash to GlaxoSmithKline in return for Glaxo’s cancer drugs, which currently generate $1.6 billion in sales but which Jimenez says include three pills he can turn into $1 billion sellers. The same day, he sold his veterinary business to Eli Lilly. He calls it “precision M&A”–bartering for the divisions you want, instead of bidding $100 billion for another rival, as Pfizer PFE 0.21% is doing with AstraZeneca . Jimenez’s move, which he terms “the antithesis of megamergers,” will drop Novartis’ 2016 sales 5% but boost earnings per share (before extraordinary items) by 10%, according to investment bank Jefferies.