Novartis chairman says considering sale of Alcon eye care division
Drugmaker Novartis is considering to sell its struggling Alcon eye care division, its chairman said in an interview with Swiss weekly SonntagsZeitung. Novartis has blamed a failure to innovate and inconsistent customer service for the problems at Alcon, a business the company gradually bought from food maker Nestle in deals totaling $51 billion. Alcon will take longer to turn around than expected, Chief Executive Joe Jimenez said in October, forecasting unit sales to be flat to slightly down in the current quarter.
