Former Novartis CEO Joe Jimenez (left) shakes hands with current CEO Vasant Narasimhan during a press conference in Basel, Switzerland, in January.

‘Not a good day for Novartis’: CEO tries to reassure employees amid fury over payments to Trump’s lawyer

The chief executive of Novartis sent employees an email Thursday seeking to contain intensifying political and business fallout over the revelation that the drug maker paid $1.2 million to President Trump’s personal lawyer to gain access to the White House.

“Yesterday was not a good day for Novartis,” wrote Vasant Narasimhan, a physician and former McKinsey consultant, who joined the drug maker more than a decade ago and oversaw global drug development before being promoted to chief executive this past February.