BASEL, SWITZERLAND (TIP): The Board of Directors of Novartis has appointed Indian American Vasant (Vas) Narasimhan, M.D., Global Head of Drug Development and Chief Medical Officer, as CEO of Novartis, effective February 1, 2018.

Dr. Narasimhan is a member of the Executive Committee and joined Novartis in 2005. He will replace Joseph Jimenez who has been CEO since 2010. The 41-year old Narasimhan who heads the Drug Discovery division runs one of the industry’s largest drug development programs—overseeing 9,600 employees, 143 projects, 500 ongoing clinical trials and a nine billion dollar budget.

Dr. Narasimhan said, “I would like to congratulate Joe and express my gratitude to Joe, Joerg, and the Board of Directors. I feel honored and humbled to be asked to lead Novartis. We will continue our legacy of bringing leading innovation to patients around the world. With our recent launches, our strong pipeline, broad capabilities, world-class leadership team, and committed people, I am very confident about our future.”

Dr. Narasimhan has held numerous leadership positions across Novartis in commercial, drug development and strategy roles. Prior to his current role he served as Head of Development for Novartis Pharmaceuticals. Before joining Novartis in 2005, he worked at McKinsey & Company. He received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in the US and obtained a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. In addition, he holds a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the University of Chicago, also in the US. During and after his medical studies, he worked extensively on a range of health issues in developing countries. Dr. Narasimhan is an elected member of the US National Academy of Medicine. He is a US citizen born in 1976, married with 2 children, and lives in Basel, Switzerland. Among the string of US FDA approvals under his watch this year there is a potential blockbuster heart-failure drug Entresto. Narasimhan brought a new dynamic to drug discovery by using big data and technology extensively by partnering with tech companies like Microsoft, Google and Qualcomm.