Novartis, the Swiss pharmaceuticals group, plans to invest up to $2bn over the next five years in an effort to turn its vaccines business into one of the world’s top three operators.

Speaking at a meeting with staff at the Siena research centre in Italy on Thursday, Jörg Reinhardt, chief executive of Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics, said he wanted the division to become global leader for meningitis and one of the top two manufacturers for flu and travellers’ vaccines by 2012.