(Redirected from Geigy Pharmaceutical)
Suffern, New York: the sole 'Novartis' pharmaceutical production facility in the United States.
'Novartis International AG' ()is a
multinational pharmaceutical company based in
Basel, Switzerland that manufactures products such as dietary fiber supplements, Benefiber and the antifungal preparation Lamisil. Novartis owns
Sandoz, a large manufacturer of
generic drugs. The company also owns the
Gerber Products Company, a major infant and baby products producer, but is in the process of divesting this division to
Nestle.
[1]
History
Novartis was created in
1996 from the merger of 'Ciba-Geigy' and
Sandoz Laboratories, both Swiss companies with long histories. At the time it was said to be the largest corporate merger in history. Ciba-Geigy was formed in
1970 by the merger of 'J. R. Geigy' (founded in Basel in
1758) and 'Ciba' (founded in Basel in
1859). Considering the histories of the merger partners, the company's history spans almost 250 years.
[2]
Ciba-Geigy
Johann Rudolf Geigy-Gemuseus (1733 – 1793) begins trading in 1758 in "materials, chemicals, dyes and drugs of all kinds" in
Basel,
Switzerland.
Johann Rudolf Geigy-Merian (1830 – 1917) and
Johann Muller-Pack acquire a site in Basel in
1857, where they build a
dyewood mill and a dye extraction plant. Two years later, they begin the production of synthetic
fuchsine. In
1901 'Geigy' is transformed into a
public limited company and in 1914, the name of the company is changed to 'J.R. Geigy Ltd'.
In
1859 Alexander Clavel (1805 – 1873) takes up the production of fuchsine in his factory for
silk dyeing works in Basel. In 1864, a new site for the production of synthetic dyes is constructed, and in 1873, Clavel sells his dye factory to the new company 'Bindschedler & Busch'. In 1884 Bindschedler & Busch is transformed into a joint-stock company with the name "Gesellschaft für Chemische Industrie Basel" (Company for Chemical Industry Basel). The abbreviation 'CIBA' becomes so widespread that it was adopted as the company's name in
1945.
In 1925 J.R. Geigy Ltd. starts producing textile auxiliaries, an activity which Ciba takes up in 1928.
Ciba and Geigy merged in 1971 to form 'Ciba‑Geigy Ltd.', and this company merged with
Sandoz in 1996 to form
Novartis.
Sandoz
Sandoz is perhaps best known for synthesizing
LSD in
1938. This was later marketed under the trade name ''Delysid'' as a
psychiatric treatment from 1947 through the early 1960s.
After the merger
After the merger, Novartis reorganized its activities, and spun out its chemicals activities as
Ciba Specialty Chemicals.
In
1998 the company made headlines with its
biotechnology licensing agreement with the
UC Berkeley Department of
Plant and
Microbial Biology. Critics of the agreement expressed concern over prospects that the agreement would diminish academic objectivity, or lead to the commercialization of
genetically modified plants. The agreement expired in 2003. There are indications which point to the commercialization of
genetically modified ingredients in Novartis' products, at least in
Spain (source:
Greenpeace Spain).
Novartis combined its
agricultural division with that of
AstraZeneca to create
Syngenta in November
2000.
In
2003, Novartis created
Sandoz, a subsidiary that bundles its
generic drug production, reusing the brand of one of its predecessor companies.
On
April 20 2006 Novartis acquired the California-based
Chiron Corporation. Chiron was formerly divided into three units: Chiron Vaccines and Chiron Blood Testing, which now combine to form Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, and Chiron BioPharmaceuticals, to be integrated into Novartis Pharmaceuticals.
Challenge to India's patent laws
Novartis challenged India's patent laws; the trial began in Madras March 2007.
[3]
References
1. Gerber: Infant and Baby
2. Company history at Novartis site
3. India's cheap drugs under patent threat
External links
★ Novartis
Official website
★
Novartis stock quote
★
Sandoz Official website
★
Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation
★
Chiron Corporation Official website
★
Novartis acquisition of Chiron approved by Chiron shareholders
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