Novartis picks Sanjay Murdeshwar of AstraZeneca to lead its India business

Swiss drug giant Novartis has appointed Sanjay Murdeshwar of AstraZeneca to lead its India business, after two of its new appointees left the company in a span of two years. Murdeshwar according to his current LinkedIn profile is the Global Vice President, Cardio-Renal business at Astrazeneca. He was also the India head of Astrazeneca from 2013-2017.

In India Novartis has a sales worth Rs 1400 crore, primarily driven by the company's portfolio of anti diabetic drug. Murdeshwar takes charge of the Swiss drug maker at a time when the company is under the scanner of Competition Commission of India for collusion with Abbott to fix the price of its anti diabetic drug. The CCI had sent show cause notices to these companies after a whistle blower had reached out to anti trust authorities claiming collusion. The case is under investigation.