novartis novartis novartis ag is a swiss multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in basel, switzerland and cambridge, massachusetts, united states (global research). consistently ranked in the global top five, novartis is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world and was the fourth largest by revenue in 2022. novartis agheadquarters in baseltypepublic (aktiengesellschaft)traded as six: novn nyse: nvs smi component isinch0012005267industrypharmaceuticalspredecessors ciba-geigy sandoz (via merger) foundedmarch 1996 (1996-03)(from merger)foundersjohann rudolfalexander clavelheadquarters basel, switzerland (47.5744252°n 7.5764914°e﻿ / 47.5744252; 7.5764914) cambridge, massachusetts, united states (global research) area servedworldwidekey peoplevasant narasimhan (ceo)productspharmaceutical drugs, generic drugs, over-the-counter drugs, vaccines, diagnostics, contact lenses, animal health (list...)revenue us$50.545 billion (2022)operating income us$9.197 billion (2022)net income us$6.955 billion (2022)total assets us$117.453 billion (2022)total equity us$59.423 billion (2022)number of employees 101,703 (2022)websitewww.novartis.comfootnotes / references novartis manufactures the drugs clozapine (clozaril), diclofenac (voltaren; sold to glaxosmithkline in 2015 deal), carbamazepine (tegretol), valsartan (diovan), imatinib mesylate (gleevec/glivec), cyclosporine (neoral/sandimmune), letrozole (femara), methylphenidate (ritalin; production ceased 2020), terbinafine (lamisil), deferasirox (exjade), and others. in march 1996, the companies ciba-geigy and sandoz merged to form novartis. it was considered the largest corporate merger in history during that time. the pharmaceutical and agrochemical divisions of both companies formed novartis as an independent entity. the name novartis was based on the latin terms, “novae artes” (new skills). after the merger, other ciba-geigy and sandoz businesses were sold, or, like ciba specialty chemicals, spun off as independent companies. the sandoz brand disappeared for three years, but was revived in 2003 when novartis consolidated its generic drugs businesses into a single subsidiary and named it sandoz. novartis divested its agrochemical and genetically modified crops business in 2000 with the spinout of syngenta in partnership with astrazeneca, which also divested its agrochemical business. the new company also acquired a series of acquisitions in order to strengthen its core businesses. novartis is a full member of the european federation of pharmaceutical industries and associations (efpia), the international federation of pharmaceutical manufacturers and associations (ifpma), and the pharmaceutical research and manufacturers of america (phrma). corporate structure shareholders of novartis by country of origin as of 2019. switzerland (42.38%) united kingdom (26.15%) united states (25.41%) others (6.06%) novartis ag is a publicly traded swiss holding company that operates through the novartis group. novartis ag owns, directly or indirectly, all companies worldwide that operate as subsidiaries of the novartis group. novartis's businesses are divided into three operating divisions: innovative medicines, sandoz (generics) and alcon (eyecare). in april 2019, novartis spun off alcon into a separate company. in august 2022, novartis announced plans to spin off sandoz as part of restructuring. the innovative medicines division comprises two business units: novartis pharmaceuticals and novartis oncology.: 150 novartis operates directly through subsidiaries, each of which fall under one of the divisions, and that novartis categorizes as fulfilling one or more of the following functions: holding/finance, sales, production, and research: 251–253 novartis ag also held 33.3 percent of the shares of roche until 2022, however it did not exercise control over roche. novartis also has two significant license agreements with genentech, a roche subsidiary. one agreement is for lucentis; the other is for xolair.: 239 in 2014, novartis established a center in hyderabad, india, in order to offshore several of its r&d, clinical development, medical writing and administrative functions. the center supports the drug major's operations in the pharmaceuticals (novartis), eye care (alcon), and generic drugs segments (sandoz). place in its market segments novartis is the world's first largest in life sciences and agribusiness markets. it is also the second-largest pharmaceutical company by market cap in 2019. alcon: at the time novartis bought alcon, they had annual sales of $6.5 billion and a net income of $2 billion. in april 2019, novartis completed the spin-off of alcon as a separate commercial entity. sandoz: as of 2013, sandoz has been recognized as the world's second-largest generic drug company. sandoz' biosimilars lead its field, getting the first biosimilar approvals in the eu. in 2018, sandoz reported us$9.9 billion in net sales. in august 2022, novartis announced plans to spin off sandoz by second half of 2023. vaccines and diagnostics division: in 2013, novartis announced it was considering selling the vaccines and diagnostics division off. this sale was completed in late 2015, and the division was integrated into csl's biocsl operation, with the combined entity trading as seqirus. in 2018, novartis sold its consumer healthcare joint venture vaccines division to glaxosmithkline for us$13.0 billion. consumer: novartis is not a leader in the over-the-counter or animal health segments; its leading otc brands are excedrin and theraflu, but sales have been slowed by problems at its key us manufacturing plant. in 2018, novartis ranked second on the access to medicine index,: 88 which "ranks companies on how readily they make their products available to the world's poor." finance for the fiscal year 2022, novartis reported earnings of us$ 6.955 billion, with an annual revenue of us 50.545 billion, an decrease of 71 percent over the previous fiscal cycle. novartis shares traded at over $80.56 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at $198.34b as of january 31, 2023. year revenuein mil. usd$ net incomein mil. usd$ price per sharein usd$ employees 2005 29,753 6,130 32.03 2006 35,105 7,175 36.99 2007 38,947 11,946 37.10 2008 42,584 8,195 35.44 2009 45,103 8,400 31.98 2010 51,561 9,794 39.41 2011 59,375 8,940 44.42 2012 51,971 9,270 46.50 2013 52,716 9,175 61.40 135,696 2014 53,634 10,210 76.50 133,413 2015 50,387 17,783 86.92 122,966 2016 49,436 6,712 71.10 122,985 2017 50,135 7,703 77.33 126,457 2018 46,099 12,614 91.13 129,924 2019 48,677 11,732 88.14 103,914 2020 49,898 8,072 84.38 110,000 2021 51,626 24,018 87.47 110,000 2022 50,545 6,955 80.56 101,703 history novartis was created in march 1996 from the merger of ciba-geigy and sandoz laboratories, both swiss companies. ciba-geigy ciba-geigy was formed in 1970 by the merger of j. r. geigy ltd (founded in basel in 1857) and ciba (founded in basel in 1859). ciba began in 1859, when alexander clavel (1805–1873) took up the production of fuchsine in his factory for silk-dyeing works in basel. by 1873, he sold his dye factory to the company bindschedler and busch. in 1884, bindschedler and busch was transformed into a joint-stock company named "gesellschaft für chemische industrie basel" (company for chemical industry basel). the acronym, ciba, was adopted as the company's name in 1945. the foundation for geigy was established in 1857, when johann rudolf geigy-merian (1830–1917) and johann muller-pack acquired a site in basel, where they built a dyewood mill and a dye extraction plant. two years later, they began the production of synthetic fuchsine. in 1901, they formed the public limited company geigy, and the name of the company was changed to j. r. geigy ltd in 1914. ciba and geigy merged in 1970 to form ciba‑geigy ltd. /ˌsiːbə ˈɡaɪɡi/. mid-1990s controversy in the mid-1990s, state and federal health and environmental agencies identified an increased incidence of childhood cancers in toms river, new jersey, from the 1970–1995 period. multiple investigations by state and federal environmental and health agencies indicated that the likely source of the increased cancer risk was contamination from toms river chemical plant (then operated by ciba-geigy), which had been in operation since 1952, and the reich farm/union carbide. the area was designated a united states environmental protection agency superfund site in 1983 after an underground plume of toxic chemicals was identified. the following year, a discharge pipe was shut down after a sinkhole at the corner of bay avenue and vaughn avenue revealed that it had been leaking. the plant ceased operation in 1996. a follow-up study from the 1996–2000 period indicated that while there were more cancer cases than expected, rates had significantly fallen and the difference was statistically insignificant compared to normal statewide cancer rates. since 1996, the toms river water system has been subject to the most stringent water testing in new jersey and is considered safe for consumption. dan fagin's toms river: a story of science and salvation, the 2014 pulitzer prize winning book, examined the issue of industrial pollution at the site in detail. sandoz the sandoz brand exists today as a subsidiary of novartis. sandoz is the generic drugs division of novartis. before the 1996 merger with ciba-geigy to form novartis, sandoz pharmaceuticals (sandoz ag) was a pharmaceutical company headquartered in basel, switzerland (as was ciba-geigy), and was best known for developing drugs such as sandimmune for organ transplantation, the antipsychotic clozaril, mellaril tablets and serentil tablets for treating psychiatric disorders, and cafergot tablets and torecan suppositories for treating migraine headaches. the chemiefirma kern und sandoz ("kern and sandoz chemistry firm") was founded in 1886 by alfred kern (1850–1893) and edouard sandoz (1853–1928). the first dyes manufactured by them were alizarinblue and auramine. after kern's death, the partnership became the corporation chemische fabrik vormals sandoz in 1895. the company began producing the fever-reducing drug antipyrin in the same year. in 1899, the company began producing the sugar substitute saccharin. further pharmaceutical research began in 1917 under arthur stoll (1887–1971), who is the founder of sandoz's pharmaceutical department in 1917. in 1918, arthur stoll isolated ergotamine from ergot; the substance was eventually used to treat migraine and headaches and was introduced under the trade name gynergen in 1921. between the world wars, gynergen (1921) and calcium-sandoz (1929) were brought to market. sandoz also produced chemicals for textiles, paper, and leather, beginning in 1929. in 1939, the company began producing agricultural chemicals. the psychedelic effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (lsd) were discovered at the sandoz laboratories in 1943 by arthur stoll and albert hofmann. sandoz began clinical trials and marketed the substance, from 1947 through the mid-1960s, under the name delysid as a psychiatric drug, thought useful for treating a wide variety of mental ailments, ranging from alcoholism to sexual deviancy. sandoz suggested in its marketing literature that psychiatrists take lsd themselves, to gain a better subjective understanding of the schizophrenic experience, and many did exactly that and so did other scientific researchers. the sandoz product received mass publicity as early as 1954, in a time magazine feature. research on lsd peaked in the 1950s and early 1960s. the cia purchased quantities of lsd from sandoz for use in its illegal human experimentation program known as mkultra. sandoz withdrew the drug from the market in 1965. the drug became a cultural novelty of the 1960s after psychologist timothy leary at harvard university began to promote its use for recreational and spiritual experiences among the general public. sandoz opened its first foreign offices in 1964. in 1967, sandoz merged with wander ag (known for ovomaltine and isostar). sandoz acquired the companies delmark, wasabröd (a swedish manufacturer of crisp bread), and gerber products company (a baby food company). on 1 november 1986, a fire broke out in a production plant storage room, which led to the sandoz chemical spill and a large amount of pesticide being released into the upper rhine river. this exposure killed many fish and other aquatic life. in 1995, sandoz spun off its specialty chemicals business to form clariant. in 1997, clariant merged with the specialty chemicals business that was spun off from hoechst ag in germany. merger in 1996, ciba-geigy merged with sandoz, with the pharmaceutical and agrochemical divisions of both staying together to form novartis. other ciba-geigy and sandoz businesses were spun off as independent companies. notably ciba specialty chemicals. sandoz's master builders technologies, a producer of chemicals for the construction industry, was sold off to skw trostberg a.g., a subsidiary of the german energy company viag, while its north american corn herbicide business became part of the german chemical maker basf. post-merger suffern, new york: one of the novartis pharmaceutical production facilities in the united states novartis india headquarters in hitec city, hyderabad in 1998, the company entered into a biotechnology licensing agreement with the university of california at berkeley department of plant and microbial biology. critics of the agreement expressed concern over prospects that the agreement would diminish academic objectivity, or lead to the commercialization of genetically modified plants. the agreement expired in 2003. 2000–2010 in 2000, novartis and astrazeneca combined their agrobusiness divisions to create a new company, syngenta. in 2003, novartis organized all its generics businesses into one division, and merged some of its subsidiaries into one company, reusing