Novartis shareholder Artisan Partners calls for board shake-up after trial setbacks

Novartis shares tumbled more than 10% on September 8, 2026, wiping $30 billion off market value after a drug from its $12 billion Avidity acquisition failed a trial. Artisan Partners, among top 20 shareholders, publicly demanded board changes and improved dealmaking, citing value destruction including the MorphoSys acquisition written down months after the 2024 deal.

Artisan Partners board shake-up demand

• ▪David Samra urged Novartis Chairman Giovanni Caforio to make changes at the board level to improve the team doing deals
• ▪David Samra, managing director at Artisan Partners and founding partner of International Value Group, called for a shake-up of Novartis' board to improve corporate governance
• ▪Asset manager Artisan Partners is among Novartis' 20 largest shareholders according to LSEG Workspace data
• ▪Artisan Partners is the first investor to publicly call for board changes at Novartis

Avidity acquisition trial failure

• ▪The Avidity drug trial failure wiped nearly $30 billion off Novartis' market value
• ▪Novartis' shares tumbled more than 10% on September 8, 2026 following the Avidity drug trial failure
• ▪Novartis acquired U.S. firm Avidity for $12 billion
• ▪A muscle-wasting disorder drug acquired through Novartis' takeover of Avidity failed a late-stage study on September 8, 2026

Pelacarsen heart drug disappointment

• ▪Novartis' stock fell 3% on September 7, 2026 after pelacarsen results were announced
• ▪Novartis' heart drug pelacarsen produced results that disappointed investors on September 7, 2026

Novartis M&A track record criticism

• ▪David Samra argued that Novartis deals had destroyed value
• ▪Novartis wrote down the value of the MorphoSys acquisition only months after the 2024 deal
• ▪Novartis acquired German biotech MorphoSys in 2024
• ▪David Samra stated that successive chairmen at Novartis had failed on acquisitions

CEO Narasimhan performance assessment

• ▪David Samra did not blame Vas Narasimhan for Novartis' acquisition problems
• ▪Novartis stated that its financial guidance was unchanged by recent setbacks
• ▪David Samra said Vas Narasimhan had done a very good job running Novartis' business
• ▪Vas Narasimhan has led Novartis as CEO since 2018
• ▪Novartis stated that it had a broad pipeline of medicines

Executive compensation structure concerns

• ▪David Samra stated that Novartis' compensation structure relies too heavily on adjusted performance measures that exclude writedowns rather than reflecting real economic outcomes
• ▪David Samra urged Novartis' board to overhaul the company's compensation structure

Debatable claims

• ▪Pharmaceutical boards should bear primary accountability for failed acquisitions
• ▪Novartis' board should be restructured after failed acquisitions and trials

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