Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan, the Global CEO of Novartis, issued stark warnings regarding the persistent failures in pandemic preparedness. In an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18, Narasimhan, a leading figure in the pharmaceutical industry, emphasised the lack of lessons learned from past crises and the urgent need for consistent investment in this critical area.
"I think for pandemic preparedness, no, I don't think the lessons have been learned," Narasimhan stated. "I think we repeat unfortunately, the same challenges." He highlighted the inherent market failure in pandemic preparedness, where investments and attention surge only when a crisis unfolds.
However, between pandemics, the private sector struggles to justify investments, and governments find it challenging to allocate resources for preparedness, he informed.
Narasimhan highlighted the consequences of this cycle, where substantial progress made during periods of heightened awareness and investment gets stalled when government funding diminishes. "So what you have is so much activity happened in 21-22 and then it all got put on hold, because government investments stopped, including in our own research labs," he said.
"Now, what will happen is that a pandemic will occur again, and we will have to start from ground zero and try to regain momentum at 100 miles per hour. So, I don't think we have yet learned the lessons. And it's really a question of how to secure consistent investment in a space where the likelihood of something happening is low," he remarked.
In a shift of focus, Narasimhan also highlighted the strategic significance of India in Novartis' global operations. He praised the country's transformation over the last seven years, emphasising the vital role played by Novartis' Indian operations in the company's success. "When you look at our performance last year, 10 positive phase three trials, every one of those trials were touched by our Indian operations," Narasimhan disclosed.
Furthermore, Narasimhan credited Novartis' Hyderabad centre for facilitating the submissions of these trials to global regulators. He hailed India, particularly Hyderabad, as a hub for top-tier talent and a driving force behind Novartis' mission to deliver essential medicines to patients worldwide.
