Former Novartis India Head Jawed Zia may Join Abbott

MUMBAI: Jawed Zia, former managing director of Novartis India who quit days after being appointed to head the Swiss drug company’s India business, might be moving to rival drug maker Abbott India, sources familiar with the matter told ET.

Zia’s resignation last Friday came as a surprise to many in the pharma industry, given that he had officially taken charge of Novartis just 15 days ago from the company’s previous Vice Chairman Ranjit Shahani.

An email sent by ET to Novartis and Zia remained unanswered till the time of going to press. Novartis, in its statement to the stock exchanges, did not mention who will replace Zia. Abbott, which is the second largest drug maker in India, competes with Novartis in several therapy areas such as cardiovascular and diabetes. But they also share tie-ups for certain drugs.


Novartis India, with domestic sales of nearly Rs 1,200 crore, has been battling it out in the Indian market with several drug companies in the anti-diabetic space.

In the past one year, the company has also been facing the heat from anti competition regulators who are investigating the company for price collusion over its anti-diabetic drug Galvus, along with other drug makers such as Abbott, USV and Emcure Pharma.