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The origin of Novartis is linked to the origin of three distinct companies: Geigy, Ciba, and Sandoz. The history of Geigy goes back to the middle of the 18th century, Ciba was founded around 1860, and Sandoz was set-up in 1886. In 1970 Ciba and Geigy merged to form Ciba-Geigy Ltd. Sandoz and Ciba-Geigy Ltd continued as separate entities for the next 25 years. In 1996, in one of the largest corporate mergers in history Sandoz and Ciba-Geigy Ltd. joined to form Novartis. In 1998, Novartis set-up the Novartis Institute for Functional Genomics. In 2000, Novartis acquired the products Famvir and Vectavir/Denavir from SmithKline Beecham. In 2001, Novartis Respiratory Research Centre, the largest of its kind in the world, was opened in Horsham (UK). In 2003, Novartis united its generics businesses under one single global brand: Sandoz. In 2005, Novartis and Astex Therapeutics formed an alliance to focus on novel cell cycle anti-cancer drugs.
Products Developed by Novartis
Pharmaceuticals: Novartis Pharmaceuticals develops over 40 general and specialty prescription medicines in 7 different therapeutic areas. Some of the popular pharmaceutical brands developed by Novartis are Diovan, gleevec, LOTREL, ZOMETA, and LAMISIL.
Vaccines and Diagnostics: Novartis Vaccines provides a host of vaccines and conventional products to combat viral and bacterial diseases across the globe.
Generics: Sandoz pharmaceuticals are generic bioequivalents of innovative, brand name products and include retail generics, biopharmaceuticals and anti-infectives.
Animal Health: Novartis manufactures a number of products for pets and farm animals.
Over the Counter Products: Novartis is leading manufacturer of self-medication products for the in-home treatment and prevention of medical conditions and ailments.