Novartis Chief Executive Joe Jimenez has played down suggestions the Swiss drugmaker could bid for Swiss biotech group Actelion, which is in talks with U.S. healthcare group Johnson & Johnson about a transaction.
Asked by Swiss Sunday newspaper SonntagsBlick whether Novartis could emerge as a white knight, he said: “We have always said that we will concentrate on complementary acquisitions in the range of $2 billion to $5 billion.” He did not elaborate.
Actelion is worth nearly $20 billion at Friday’s closing price.
