NovartisEdit
Novartis International AG is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel. Formed in 1996 from the merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, it quickly established itself as a leading global player in medicines, eye care, and generics. The company operates primarily through two main divisions: Innovative Medicines and Sandoz, with a historic eye-care unit, Alcon, having become an independent business in recent years. Novartis has been a major driver of biomedical innovation, particularly in oncology, immunology, ophthalmology, and cardiovascular care, while pursuing efficiency and global access through a mix of high-value medicines, biologics, and generics.
Novartis’s business strategy emphasizes a robust research and development pipeline, diversified sources of revenue, and global reach. Its emphasis on breakthrough therapies—such as cell and gene therapies—has positioned the company as a key player in next-generation medicine, even as it faces ongoing pressures around pricing, regulatory scrutiny, and competition from other large biopharma groups. The company’s footprint spans more than a hundred countries, and its activities touch both high-income markets and emerging economies, where access to innovative treatments remains a central policy concern.
History
Origins and formation
The modern entity traces its roots to the 1996 merger of two long-standing Swiss companies, Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz. The combined organization adopted the name Novartis and became one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical groups, with a portfolio spanning prescription medicines, vaccines, and, previously, consumer health products. The merger reflected a broader industry trend toward consolidated research, manufacturing scale, and global marketing.
Strategic evolution and restructuring
Over the following decades, Novartis pursued a strategy of streamlining its portfolio to emphasize high-value medicines and novel technologies. In parallel, it restructured or divested segments that did not fit the core focus on innovative therapies. Notably, the company separated its eye-care unit, Alcon, turning it into an independent enterprise, and pursued a major divestment of non-core assets. It also pursued strategic collaborations and acquisitions to bolster capabilities in biotechnology, gene therapy, and personalized medicine.
A landmark development in the company’s trajectory was the acquisition of AveXis in 2018, which brought forward the gene therapy Zolgensma (onasemnogene abeparvovec) for spinal muscular atrophy and signaled a commitment to cutting-edge genetic medicines. At the same time, Novartis expanded its immunology and oncology franchises with therapies such as Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel) and Cosentyx (secukinumab), underscoring a shift toward biologics and cell-based therapies.
Focus on core businesses
In the 2010s and into the 2020s, Novartis reaffirmed its emphasis on two core pillars: Innovative Medicines, which includes specialty drugs and biologics, and Sandoz, its generics and biosimilars arm. This focus aimed to balance the pursuit of breakthrough medicines with more predictable, value-driven opportunities in generics and biosimilars. The company has also navigated evolving regulatory environments and reimbursement models in major markets, seeking to maintain strong research output while sustaining financial performance.
Business segments
Innovative Medicines
This division houses the company’s flagship medicines and biologics across therapeutic areas such as oncology, immunology, cardiovascular, and infectious diseases. Key programs and products have included cell therapies and other advanced modalities that aim to address unmet medical needs. Internal and external collaborations continue to shape the pipeline, with a strong emphasis on personalized medicine and targeted therapies. See Kymriah and Cosentyx as examples of late-stage biologics that have become foundational in their indications.
Sandoz
Sandoz operates as the company’s generics and biosimilars arm, providing affordable access to a broad range of medicines. The unit focuses on both small-molecule generics and complex biosimilars, leveraging manufacturing scale and global distribution networks. See Sandoz for further context on the generics business lifecycle and its role in global pharmaceutical markets.
Alcon (historical context)
The eye-care business Alcon was historically part of the Novartis group but is now an independent enterprise. The move reflected a broader industry pattern of separating specialty businesses to sharpen strategic focus and capital allocation.
Products and therapies
Novartis has a diversified portfolio that blends high-value biologics with established generics and specialty medicines. Notable products and therapies associated with the company and its affiliates include:
- Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel), a pioneering CAR-T cell therapy for certain blood cancers. See Kymriah.
- Cosentyx (secukinumab), a widely used monoclonal antibody for psoriasis and axial spondyloarthritis. See Cosentyx.
- Gilenya (fingolimod), an oral therapy for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. See Gilenya.
- Zolgensma (onasemnogene abeparvovec), a gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy developed through the AveXis acquisition. See Zolgensma.
- Diovan (valsartan), a well-known cardiovascular medicine that has generated substantial global revenue over many years. See Valsartan.
- Sandoz portfolio of generics and biosimilars, providing lower-cost options across many therapeutic areas. See Sandoz.
These products illustrate the company’s dual emphasis on landmark, high-barrier innovations and broad access through generics and biosimilars. The company’s research investments seek to extend outcomes in oncology, autoimmune disease, ophthalmology, and other high-need areas.
Research and development
Novartis maintains a substantial global R&D footprint, pursuing advances in cell and gene therapies, biologics, small-molecule medicines, and digital health-enabled drug development. Collaboration with academic institutions, biotech startups, and industry partners is a core component of its pipeline strategy. The AveXis acquisition positioned the group to advance gene therapy platforms, while ongoing work in immunology and oncology aims to deliver treatments with improved efficacy and safety profiles. The company often reports milestones in clinical trials, regulatory submissions, and approvals across major markets, with an emphasis on translational science and scalable manufacturing.
Corporate governance and global footprint
Novartis operates in numerous countries around the world, subject to the regulatory regimes of agencies such as the FDA in the United States and the EMA in the European Union, among others. The governance structure includes a board of directors and executive leadership responsible for strategic direction, capital allocation, and compliance. Like other large pharmaceutical groups, Novartis faces ongoing regulatory pressures, competition from peers, and the challenges of pricing, reimbursement, and access in different healthcare systems. The company’s global supply chain, manufacturing network, and clinical trial operations are geared toward sustaining a diverse product portfolio while maintaining high standards for quality and safety.
Controversies and debates
As with most large biopharma manufacturers, Novartis has faced public and regulatory scrutiny on several fronts. Common themes in debates include:
- Drug pricing and access: Critics argue that high prices for innovative therapies can limit patient access, particularly in lower-income markets. Proponents often counter that pricing is necessary to sustain ongoing research and development, physician education, and the pipeline required to bring future therapies to patients.
- Intellectual property and competition: The balance between protecting innovative breakthroughs and enabling competition through generics and biosimilars remains a central policy issue in many markets. Debates focus on patent life, data exclusivity, and the timing of biosimilar entry.
- Compliance and governance: Like other global companies, Novartis has encountered investigations and settlements related to compliance and anti-bribery rules in various jurisdictions. These episodes underscore the importance of strong internal controls, transparency, and robust governance practices to maintain trust with regulators, customers, and patients.
Those discussions are part of a broader conversation about how to finance and accelerate medical innovation while ensuring that life-saving therapies become accessible to those in need. Stakeholders across health systems—payers, patients, clinicians, policymakers, and industry peers—continue to weigh the trade-offs between price, access, and sustained investment in research.