Novartis

What does Novartis own?
Novartis owns a portfolio of innovative prescription medicines across oncology, immunology, cardiovascular, neuroscience, and ophthalmology. Key products include Cosentyx (inflammatory diseases), Entresto (heart failure), Kisqali (breast cancer), Kesimpta (multiple sclerosis), Leqvio (cholesterol), Zolgensma (gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy), and Kymriah (CAR-T cell therapy). Novartis spun off its Sandoz generics division in 2023 and its Alcon eye care division in 2019.

Is Novartis publicly traded?
Yes, Novartis AG is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange under ticker NOVN and on NASDAQ under ticker NVS (as American Depositary Receipts). The company has a broad institutional and retail shareholder base with no single controlling shareholder. Major institutional shareholders include Vanguard Group and BlackRock.

Who founded Novartis?
Novartis was formed in 1996 through the merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, two of Switzerland's oldest pharmaceutical companies. Ciba-Geigy itself was formed through the 1970 merger of Ciba and Geigy, both founded in Basel in the 19th century. Sandoz was founded in 1886 in Basel. The 1996 merger was one of the largest corporate mergers in history at the time, valued at approximately $63 billion.

Where is Novartis headquartered?
Novartis AG is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. Basel has been the center of the Swiss pharmaceutical industry for more than a century, and Novartis, Roche, and several other major pharmaceutical companies are headquartered in the city. Novartis operates manufacturing and research facilities in Switzerland, the United States, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan, China, India, Singapore, and Brazil.

How many products does Novartis sell?
Novartis sells dozens of prescription medicines across multiple therapeutic areas. The company's growth portfolio is led by Cosentyx, Entresto, Kisqali, Kesimpta, Leqvio, Zolgensma, and Kymriah. Novartis has a pipeline of more than 150 projects in clinical development across its therapeutic focus areas. The company sells products in more than 140 countries worldwide.

Who owns Novartis?
Novartis AG is publicly traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange and NASDAQ with a broad institutional and retail shareholder base. No single shareholder holds a controlling stake. The Novartis Foundation for Employee Participation holds a significant stake. Major institutional shareholders include Vanguard Group and BlackRock. Vas Narasimhan serves as CEO and Joerg Reinhardt chairs the board.

Novartis was formed in 1996 through the merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, two of Switzerland's oldest and largest pharmaceutical companies. Both companies had roots in the Basel chemical and dye industry of the 19th century.

Ciba was founded in 1859 as a chemical company in Basel, initially producing dyes. The company diversified into pharmaceuticals in the early 20th century and merged with Geigy in 1970 to form Ciba-Geigy. Ciba-Geigy became one of the world's leading pharmaceutical and specialty chemicals companies.

Sandoz was founded in 1886 in Basel as a chemical company. The company became known for its pharmaceutical research, most notably the accidental discovery of LSD by chemist Albert Hofmann in 1943. Sandoz developed important pharmaceutical products including Clozaril (clozapine) for schizophrenia and Sandimmune (cyclosporine) for organ transplant rejection.

The 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz to form Novartis was one of the largest corporate mergers in history at the time, valued at approximately $63 billion. The merged company was named Novartis, from the Latin "novae artes" meaning "new skills" or "new arts."

Following the merger, Novartis pursued a strategy of focusing on pharmaceuticals while divesting non-core businesses. The company spun off its specialty chemicals business as Ciba Specialty Chemicals in 1997 and its agribusiness as Syngenta in 2000.

Novartis acquired Alcon Laboratories, a US eye care company, in 2010 for approximately $51 billion, making it one of the world's largest eye care companies. Alcon was subsequently spun off as an independent publicly listed company in April 2019.

In 2018, Novartis acquired AveXis for approximately $8.7 billion, gaining Zolgensma, a gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy that became one of the most expensive drugs in history at approximately $2.1 million per treatment.

In October 2023, Novartis completed the spin-off of its Sandoz generics and biosimilars division as an independent publicly listed company on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The spin-off allowed Novartis to focus entirely on innovative medicines.

For full-year 2025, Novartis reported net sales of approximately $45.7 billion, with strong growth driven by Cosentyx, Entresto, Kisqali, and Kesimpta.

Novartis has faced significant regulatory and legal scrutiny. In 2019, the US FDA found that Novartis had manipulated data in the clinical trial for Zolgensma, the gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy. Novartis disclosed the data manipulation after the drug had already received FDA approval. The FDA ultimately allowed Zolgensma to remain on the market but required Novartis to conduct additional studies.

Novartis paid a $678 million settlement to the US Department of Justice in 2020 related to kickback payments to specialty pharmacies that promoted Novartis drugs. The settlement resolved allegations that Novartis paid pharmacies to recommend its drugs to patients.

The company has also faced criticism regarding the pricing of Zolgensma at approximately $2.1 million per treatment, making it one of the most expensive drugs in history. Novartis has defended the price as reflecting the drug's clinical value in treating a severe, life-threatening disease.