Pharmaceuticals company Novartis AG is targeting further savings in marketing and production, Chief Executive Joe Jimenez tells Swiss newspaper Handelszeitung.
"We have spent too much money on marketing and selling our drugs," Jimenez says in an interview to be published Thursday.
Novartis has already reduced its spending, but Jimenez said, "We can save even more, even if we grow. This business revolves around science, not around marketing."
Further savings are also planned in the production area, Jimenez says, which could mean plant closures.
"We have 83 factories and we only use about 50% to full capacity--that isn't good," Jimenez says.
The company's research and development budget would remain intact, and could even be increased in the next five years, the CEO says.
Jimenez says he is optimistic about the future.