Oligopoly brief: Novartis
When French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Synthelabo proposed to buy out French pharmaceutical company Aventis in a hostile takeover a few months ago, Aventis looked for a "white knight" to save it from Sanofi's grasp. It hit upon Swiss drugmaker Novartis, which has battled Sanofi for the prize.
There are more than corporations and stockholders in the act. The French government has expressed its dismay at the acquisition of a French company by a Swiss one. But investors, the large majority of them living outside France, apparently favor the Novartis bid, as Novartis is far more stable financially - in fact, it's the most profitable among the top 10 pharmaceutical companies. Sanofi's bid for Aventis ($56 billion) has been deemed too low, and Novartis, not Sanofi, has the deeper pockets.
Novartis is the #5 drug company in the world; with the merger it would be #2, with 9% share of the worldwide market. Aventis has a stronger presence in the US than Novartis, so that would be a plus for the acquiring company. The merged company would become the world leader in cancer drugs. The combined companies would also be strong in diabetes and cardiovascular medicines.
Novartis is a relatively young company, created from the merger of Swiss drug giants Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz. Geigy started in 1758 in Basel, Switzerland. Ciba was founded in 1859, also in Basel. Sandoz trace sits origins to 1886 in Basel, as well. All three companies produced dyes, chemicals, and eventually drugs. While the three cooperated in ventures over the years, Ciba and Geigy merged together only in 1970. In 1996, Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz merged.
The company is presently divided into two divisions, Novartis Pharmaceuticals and Novartis Consumer Health. The Pharmaceuticals group (64% of corporate income) includes a wide variety of drug therapies from oncology to dermatology to ophthalmology. The Consumer Health group (36%) sells products ranging from nutrition to eye-care to over-the-counter and generic medicines. The company has long since gotten out of the chemicals, dyes, and seed businesses.
Novartis owns well known brands as Prilosec, Ritalin, Zantac, Zocor, (prescription), and Maalox, Lamasil, Ex-Lax and Gas-X (over-the counter). It has a wide variety of prescription drugs treating everything from herpes to Alzheimer's disease. Through its Sandoz group, the company manufactures a wide variety of generic drugs, many of which are direct competitors for its prescription drugs.
Novartis also owns Gerber baby food, the leading baby product company in the US. It is also a leader in vision care with its Ciba Vision contact lenses. Other areas of concentration are medical nutrition (such as through tube feeding) and pet and animal care.
Novartis products
| Disease or area |
Products |
| ADD/ADHD |
Focalin. Ritalin |
| Alzheimer's Disease |
Exelon |
| Allergy |
Claritine |
| Animal Care: Cats and Dogs |
Capstar, Program, Sentinel (fleas); Fortekor (heart); Interceptor, Milbemax (heartworm); Atopica, Panalog (dermatitis); Clomicalm (anxiety) |
| Animal Care: Cattle, Sheep, Pigs, and Poultry |
Acatak (ticks); Cosumix, Coxisol, Denagard, Dynamutilin, Econor, ESB3, Tiamutin, Tiotilin (antibiotic); Endex, Parsifal, Soforen (roundworm); Fasinex (fasciolosis); Clik, Vetrazin (blowfly); Agita, Larvadex, Neporex (flies); Lantrat (rodents) |
| Antibiotics |
Augmentin, Penicillin (generic) |
| Arthritis |
Cataflam, Voltaren |
| Athlete's Foot |
Lamasil* |
| Baby Care |
Gerber (infant food, breastfeeding aids, and baby products)* |
| Blood pressure |
Diovan, Hytrin, Lexxel,Lopressor, Lotensin, Lotrel, Prinivil, Tenoric |
| Cancer |
Aredia, Femara, Gleevec, Sandostatin, Zometa |
| Cholesterol |
Lescol, Zocor |
| Cold and Flu |
NeoCitran*, Otrivin*, TheraFlu*, Triaminic* |
| Cushing's Syndrome |
Cytadren |
| Depression |
Celexa |
| Diabetes |
Glucophage, Starlix |
| Epilepsy |
Tegrefol, Trileptal |
| Heartburn, gas |
Gas-X*, Maalox*, Prilosec, Zantac* |
| Hormone treatment |
CombiPatch, Estraderm, Vivelle |
| Itrritable Bowel Syndrome |
Zelnorm |
| Laxative |
Benefiber*, Ex-Lax* |
| Leprosy |
Lamprene |
| Medical Nutrition |
Compat (devices for food delivery), Litec, Mosegor (anorexia), Compleat, Dietsource, Novasource, Nutrixource, Peptinex, Sandosource, Tolerex, Vivonex (hospital nutrition) |
| Muscle pain |
Emulgel*, Voltaren |
| Organ transplant |
Neoral, Sandimmune, Simulect |
| Osteoporosis |
Miacalcin |
| Pain Management |
Cafergot, Floricet, Florinal, Sancert |
| Parkinson's Disease |
Comtan. Patlodel, Statevo |
| Pulmonary |
Foradil, Xolair |
| Schizophrenia |
Clozaril, Mellarit |
| Skin |
Denavir*, Farnvir, Vextavir* (herpes), Elidel (eczema)' Fenistel* (irritation) |
| Smoking cessation |
Hibtrol*, Nicotrinell* |
| Vision |
Choice, Cibasoft, CSI, Durasoft, FOCUS. Freshlook, Illusion, Precision, RGP, Softcon, Turiso (contact lenses); 10/10, AOSEPT, AQuify, BLUEsept, FOCUS, MiraFlow, Pure Eyes, SoftWear, SOLOCare, Unizyme (contact lens care) |
| Wound Healing |
Fenistil | * Over-the-counter
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