Novartis CEO on the Future of Medicine | a16z Full Interview

a16z general partner Jorge Conde talks with Vasant Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis International, about transforming a 250-year-old conglomerate into a pure play medicines company and unlocking $180 billion of value in the process. They cover Novartis's platform technologies: cell and gene therapies, RNA medicines, and radioligand therapies. They also discuss AI in drug discovery, the rise of China as a biotech competitor, and what Vasant looks for when evaluating startup partnerships, including his advice on the killer experiments and CMC work that can make or break a deal. 00:00 Introduction 05:28 Why Not Re-Diversify into Consumer Health? 14:45 Why siRNA Is ‘De-Risked’ and Built for Infrequent Dosing 20:01 Radioligand Therapy Explained 23:52 Patient & Physician Preferences: Injections vs Pills, Safety Profiles, and Adoption 34:18 How Novartis Uses AI Today: Data Lakes, Copilot, and Decision Agents 38:25 China’s Rise and the New Biotech Competitive Reality 54:12 Advice for Biotech Founders Resources Follow Vasant Narasimhan on LinkedIn:   / vasnarasimhan   Follow Jorge Conde on X:   / jorgecondebio   Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X:   / a16z   Find a16z on LinkedIn:   / a16z   Listen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RD... Listen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures .