Novartis reshuffling doesn't portend a pullback from gene therapy, company says

Two months ago, Novartis Gene Therapies chief Dave Lennon left the company to lead a biotech startup that is operating in stealth mode. It was with similar stealth that the unit Lennon formerly headed up fell victim to a reorganization by the company.

In a move that was effective in February, Novartis Gene Therapies was broken up and integrated into the company, costing nearly 150 employees their jobs, Endpoints reported on Tuesday. A spokesperson for Novartis confirmed the report in a statement emailed to Fierce Pharma. Remaining employees from the gene therapy unit now report to Novartis’ respective organizational units, including pharmaceuticals, technical operations, global drug development and biomedical research.