Chairman of the board and CEO of the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche Humer addresses the media in Basel
Then both chairman of the board and CEO of the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, Franz Humer addresses the media during the company's annual news conference in Basel in this file photo taken Jan. 30, 2008. REUTERS

Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG does not need a new cost-cutting program after it announced a big savings plan last year, Chairman Franz Humer told a newspaper on Sunday.

We don't need new programs ... but we will always pursue efficiency improvements, Humer told the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper in an interview.

Last November, Roche said it would cut 4,800 jobs to save 2.4 billion Swiss francs in annual costs from 2012 onward as the pharmaceutical industry grapples with mounting pressure on prices.

Rival Novartis AG said last month it is slashing 2,000 jobs in Switzerland and the United States to keep costs under control in the face of growing price pressures and the strong Swiss franc.

Humer said Roche was suffering less than other Swiss companies from the strength of the franc, but still needed to improve productivity and efficiency in the country.

Humer, who was CEO of Roche for a decade before handing over the reins to Severin Schwan in 2008, said he would stand for re-election as chairman in March.

(Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by David Cowell)