Novartis AG (NOVN) Chief Executive Officer Joseph Jimenez had worked in the pharmaceutical industry only four years before taking the helm of the Swiss drug giant in February 2010. Yet his brief tenure in the business hasn’t kept him from crafting a bold solution to a problem that’s long stumped drug industry veterans: how to manage the so-called patent cliff when lucrative medicines lose patent protection. Veteran executives at some companies, such as Sanofi, are acquiring smaller rivals with more promising drug pipelines. Others, such as managers at Pfizer Inc. (PFE), are cutting back on expensive research and development to save cash.
