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 onwards as the pharma 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 chief executive of Roche for a decade before handing over to Severin Schwan in 2008, said he would stand for reelection as chairman in March.

(Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by David Cowell)