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.
