VALSARTAN SUN

SIX:NOVNSMIcomponentNYSE:NVS(ADR) Ciba-GeigySandoz (via merger) 20 December 1996; 29 years ago(1996-12-20)(from merger) Johann RudolfAlexander Clavel Vasant Narasimhan(CEO)Giovanni Caforio (chairman) Novartis AGis a Swissmultinationalpharmaceutical corporationbased inBasel, Switzerland. Novartis is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world and was the eighth largest by revenue in 2024. Novartis manufactures the drugsclozapine(Clozaril),diclofenac(Voltaren; sold toGlaxoSmithKlinein 2015 deal),carbamazepine(Tegretol),valsartan(Diovan),imatinib mesylate(Gleevec/Glivec),cyclosporine(Neoral/Sandimmune),letrozole(Femara),methylphenidate(Ritalin; produced by Sandoz since 2023),terbinafine(Lamisil),deferasirox(Exjade), and others. Novartis was formed in 1996 by the merger ofCiba-GeigyandSandoz.It was considered the largest corporate merger in history during that time.The pharmaceutical andagrochemicaldivisions 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, likeCiba Specialty Chemicals, spun off as independent companies. The Sandoz brand disappeared for three years, but was revived in 2003 when Novartis consolidated itsgeneric drugsbusinesses into a single subsidiary and named it Sandoz. Novartis divested its agrochemical andgenetically modified cropsbusiness in 2000 with the spinout ofSyngentain partnership withAstraZeneca, 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 theEuropean Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations(EFPIA),theBiotechnology Innovation Organization(BIO),theInternational Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations(IFPMA),and thePharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America(PhRMA).Novartis is the third most valuable pharmaceutical company in Europe, afterNovo NordiskandRoche.