This photograph taken on Oct 30, 2022, shows the logo of the Swiss pharmaceutical and drug maker Novartis on a building in Basel, Switzerland. (PHOTO / FILE / AFP)

Novartis has completed the spin-off of its generics and biosimilars business Sandoz, the Swiss drugmaker said on Wednesday, when the shares start trading on the Swiss stock exchange, under the symbol SDZ.

Novartis Chief Executive Vas Narasimhan called the moment "historic", saying in a statement that Sandoz started out from a position of strength as a global leader in the area of generics and biosimilars.

The core business will become more dependent on its drug development prowess as Sandoz’s more reliable income stream will drop away as a result of the spin-off

The firm initiated the long-awaited spin-off following mounting pricing pressures in the US off-patent drug sector.

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But the core business will become more dependent on its drug development prowess as Sandoz’s more reliable income stream will drop away as a result of the spin-off.

"Today, after more than $100 billion in transactions over the last few years, Novartis emerges as a fully focused innovative medicines company," Narasimhan added.

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Novartis shareholders would receive one Sandoz share for every five of Novartis held, the company said in August.