Richard Saynor named new Sandoz CEO

Novartis (NOVN: VX) has raided GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) to replace the departed chief executive of the Swiss drugmaker’s Sandoz generics unit.

Richard Saynor, currently the UK pharma major’s senior vice president for classic and established products, commercial and digital platforms, will replace Richard Francis, who left his role at Sandoz in March.

Mr Saynor’s 20 years in the industry has given him experience with both generics and established pharmaceutical brands, and before joining GSK, he held commercial operations leadership roles at Sandoz and oversaw an expansion of its generics business across Asia, Latin America and Turkey.