Major Novartis shareholder calls for board shake-up after trial setbacks

Artisan Partners, a top-20 Novartis investor, has publicly called for changes to the company’s board, according to a Reuters report dated September 10, 2026.

Artisan managing director David Samra urged Chairman Giovanni Caforio to strengthen oversight of acquisitions and improve the team responsible for dealmaking.

The investor’s criticism follows major clinical-trial setbacks and a sharp, reportedly record decline in Novartis shares.

Artisan also criticized Novartis’ compensation system for relying too heavily on adjusted performance measures that exclude writedowns.

Samra directed criticism at the board and governance—not CEO Vas Narasimhan, whose performance he described positively.

The concerns include costly transactions such as the $12 billion Avidity acquisition and Novartis’ $2.9 billion purchase of MorphoSys, which was followed by an approximately $800 million writedown.