About
Novartis was created in 1996 by the merger of two Swiss pharmaceutical dynasties, Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz — both of which traced their roots to dye factories in the 1850s Basel chemical industry. The name was coined from the Latin 'novae artes', meaning 'new skills', signaling a fresh start for a company with an unusually deep European pedigree. The company's modern focus is prescription medicines across four therapeutic areas: cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (its heart failure drug Entresto and cholesterol treatment Leqvio); immunology (the blockbuster psoriasis and arthritis drug Cosentyx); neuroscience (the schizophrenia treatment and the Alzheimer's drug Leqembi, developed with Eisai); and oncology (the targeted cancer drugs Kisqali and Pluvicto). Its cell and gene therapy division pioneered CAR-T cancer treatments like Kymriah, which engineers a patient's own immune cells to attack tumors. Headquartered in Basel with about 76,000 employees and annual revenue near US$52 billion, Novartis has deliberately streamlined itself — selling its generics business Sandoz in 2023 and its eye care unit — to become a pure innovative medicines company. With one of the industry's deepest pipelines, the 25-year-old company built on 170-year-old roots is a pillar of the global pharma landscape.
Also known as: Novartis
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Novartis headquartered?+
Novartis is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. It is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies.
When was Novartis founded?+
Novartis was created in 1996 by the merger of two Swiss pharmaceutical giants, Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz.
What does Novartis make?+
Novartis develops medicines for oncology, immunology, cardiovascular, neuroscience and ophthalmology, including drugs like Entresto and Kisqali.
