Novartis is ‘exiting’ the people behind its data scandal

Novartis is “in the process of exiting” the employees responsible for falsifying data submitted to the FDA, CEO Vas Narasimhan said yesterday, employing an odd bit of language on a conference call with analysts.

That call, which wasn’t publicized beforehand, brought Narasimhan’s first public statement on the data manipulation scandal, which has thrust Novartis into an uncomfortable position. On Tuesday, the FDA revealed that Novartis waited three months to inform regulators about the issue, warning that there could be “civil or criminal penalties” for the company.

Narasimhan defended that decision, saying that “everyone in our organization can stand proud that we tried to do the right things in this instance."

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