Novartis CEO Narasimhan's $50 billion of deals was just the first act

Vas Narasimhan is still keen to shake up Novartis AG after orchestrating more than $50 billion of deals in his first year at the helm of the pharmaceutical giant, and he has the firepower to do it.
 
With plans to spend more than $10 billion a year on acquisitions, Big Pharma’s youngest boss is hunting for partnerships to develop groundbreaking gene therapies. He’s also weighing sales of Sandoz assets in Asia and emerging markets amid speculation about the fate of the overall generic-drugs business.
 
His flurry of opening moves — spinning off the Alcon eye-care division, ditching a