Pareja dispareja: Joe/Novartis y Severin/Roche estratégicas diferencias o diferencias en estrategias?

Algunos andan juntos...aunque no les guste.
Otros parece no les gusta, (aunque debieran... o muchos desearan).
En Basilea..."mala sangre".

Que será, será...?

The climate became frostier last week when Roche's Severin Schwan announced a cost-saving program on the same day that Novartis CEO Joe Jimenez presented his diversification strategy at the group's long-awaited investor day in London.

"It was noticeable that Jimenez was irritated about the timing of the Roche cost-cutting announcement," said Vontobel analyst Andrew Weiss, who attended the London meeting.

The differences go deeper than a matter of timing. Schwan, an Austrian who collected his doctorate in law from the University of Innsbruck, has been dismissive of the sort of approach taken by Novartis, based on expanding into broader product categories.

"A lot of people call it diversification," Schwan was quoted as saying in an interview with the Financial Times. "I call it giving up."

For investors too the issues are potentially serious as governments across the world look to slash drug spending, regulatory standards toughen and looming patent expiries create a tough environment for the drug sector.

.../...

Roche is cutting about 6 percent of its workforce over the next two years, aiming to reduce annual costs by 2.4 billion francs from 2012 onwards, while Novartis's Jimenez, a former H.J. Heinz Co executive who took over in February, has mapped out a broad-based diversification plan.

The latter includes over-the-counter remedies, eye care, vaccines and cheap generic copies of prescription drugs, as well as branded pharmaceuticals.

Investors are also watching the clash of the Basel-based companies for any impact on Novartis' 33 percent stake in Roche's voting shares, a holding which previous CEO Daniel Vasella grabbed nine years ago.

Mas...