Novartis announces USD 1 billion investment to build largest
pharmaceutical R&D institute in China
(Thomson Reuters ONE) - Corporate news announcement processed and transmitted by Hugin AS.The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Novartis Institute of BioMedical Research in Shanghai, an integral part of the Novartis global R&D network worldwide, to rank third largest for Novartis worldwide * Additional USD 250 million invested in advanced technical R&D and manufacturing facility opening in Changshu, furthering economic development of Jiangsu province and Suzhou cityBeijing, November 3, 2009 - Novartis announced today a USD 1 billioninvestment over the next five years, increasing R&D activities inChina and confirming Novartis' long term commitment to China'sfurther economic development, health reform and improving the healthcare of the Chinese people. The Novartis investment will include asignificant expansion of The Novartis Institute of BioMedicalResearch (CNIBR) in Shanghai. "We are confident that our expanded investment in R&D will result ininnovative therapies for patients in China and other countriesnurtured by the growing scientific excellence in China." said DrDaniel Vasella, Chairman and CEO of Novartis. "We are also pleased tocontribute to the Shanghai government's aim to establish the city asthe premiere R&D center for China's bio-medicine industry by 2012, asNovartis is committed to investing to further the Chinesegovernment's strategy for stimulating economic growth, stability andenhancing the livelihood of the Chinese people."Demand for healthcare in China is growing rapidly. In addition, theburden of disease now includes more chronic diseases associated withlifestyle choices. The government is working to expand access toaffordable, basic medical services to all citizens by 2020, andrecently announced that it will spend approximately USD124 billionover the next three years to further build the nation's healthsystem. Government efforts are expected to extend to expandinginsurance coverage, updating public hospitals and training communityhealthcare workers. Activities are also anticipated to help improvehealth IT systems and strengthen the quality and safety ofpharmaceutical production capabilities, improving access toinnovative treatments. Novartis aims to support the government'shealth reform by sharing knowledge and best practices.Novartis investments will expand The Novartis Institute forBioMedical Research in Shanghai (CNIBR) which is currently located inZhangjiang High-tech Park. The Institute specializes in basicresearch and development of new drugs including small molecule andbiological medicines to treat diseases that are highly prevalent inChina. To allow for this large expansion, the BioMedical ResearchInstitute will relocate to a new state of the art campus in Shanghai.Its activities are expected to span work in analytics and biomarkers,in vivo pharmacology, protein production, characterization andscale-up screening and chemistry and proteomics, genomics andimaging. CNIBR is expected to extend and increase its collaborationswith institutions in China and is committed to cultivating local R&Dtalent, sharing the world-leading development technology platform ofNovartis and years of drug development experience. CNIBR is expectedto be the third largest R&D center for Novartis, after the R&D centerin Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and the facility at the Novartisheadquarters in Basel, Switzerland, and to become the largestcomprehensive R&D center in China. Estimates are that the number ofR&D associate positions will increase from 160 today to about 1,000.Novartis also announced that it has invested USD 250 million in a newglobal technical center which is opening in Changshu, focused ontechnical research, development and manufacturing activities of APIs(active pharmaceutical ingredients). The synergies gained from theco-location of both technical R&D and manufacturing enablesignificant pharmaceutical process improvements and operationalefficiencies. The number of high quality jobs at the new center isprojected to nearly double, and the facility is expected to be acritical part of the global production and supply chain network.DisclaimerThis release contains certain forward-looking statements relating tothe Group's business, which can be identified by terminology such as"to build," "to rank," "commitment," "will," "confident," "aim,""committed," "strategy," "expected," "anticipated," "aims,""estimates," "projected," or similar expressions, or by express orimplied discussions regarding the extent of Novartis' investment inexpanding its Research and Development Institute in China, and theperiod of time over which such investment will occur; regarding thesize and extent of the facilities and jobs to be created at CNIBR andat the Changshu facility, and the work to be done at thosefacilities; regarding potential new products, potential newindications for existing products or potential new technologies to bedeveloped as a result of the investments announced in this release,or regarding potential future revenues from any such products ortechnologies, or potential future sales or earnings of the NovartisGroup or any of its divisions or business units; or by discussions ofstrategy, plans, expectations or intentions. You should not placeundue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statementsreflect the current views of the Group regarding future events, andinvolve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors thatmay cause actual results to be materially different from any futureresults, performance or achievements expressed or implied by suchstatements. There can be no guarantee that the Novartis investmentsin China will ultimately be as set forth in this release. Nor canthere be any guarantee that the Novartis investments set forth inthis release will result in the construction of facilities of anyparticular size or relative size, or will result in the creation ofany particular number of jobs or that any particular types of workwill be performed at these facilities. Neither can there be anyguarantee that any new products or any new indications for existingproducts, or any new technologies will be developed, or approved forsale in any market, or that such products will achieve any particularrevenue levels. Nor can there be any guarantee that the NovartisGroup, or any of its divisions or business units, will achieve anyparticular financial results. In particular, management'sexpectations could be affected by, among other things, uncertaintiesinvolved in the development of new pharmaceutical products;unexpected clinical trial results, including additional analysis ofexisting clinical data or unexpected new clinical data; unexpecteddifficulties in employing or retaining qualified employees;unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulationgenerally; the Group's ability to obtain or maintain patent or otherproprietary intellectual property protection; the uncertain outcomeand progress of the ongoing global financial and economic crisis,including uncertainties regarding future global exchange rates anduncertainties regarding future demand for our products; the uncertainoutcome and progress of the ongoing global financial and economiccrisis, including uncertainties regarding future global exchangerates and uncertainties regarding future demand for our products;competition in general; government, industry, and general publicpricing and other political pressures; the impact that the foregoingfactors could have on the values attributed to the Group's assets andliabilities as recorded in the Group's consolidated balance sheet;and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Shouldone or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or shouldunderlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may varymaterially from those described herein as anticipated, believed,estimated or expected. Novartis is providing the information in thesematerials as of this date and does not undertake any obligation toupdate any forward-looking statements as a result of new information,future events or otherwise.About NovartisNovartis provides healthcare solutions that address the evolvingneeds of patients and societies. Focused solely on healthcare,Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs:innovative medicines, cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals, preventivevaccines, diagnostic tools and consumer health products. Novartis isthe only company with leading positions in each of these areas. In2008, the Group's continuing operations achieved net sales of USD41.5 billion and net income of USD 8.2 billion. Approximately USD 7.2billion was invested in R&D activities throughout the Group.Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis Group companies employapproximately 99,000 full-time-equivalent associates and operate inmore than 140 countries around the world. For more information,please visit http://www.novartis.com. # # #Novartis Media RelationsCentral media line : +41 61 324 2200Eric AlthoffNovartis Global Media Relations+41 61 324 7999 (direct)+41 79 593 4202 (mobile)eric.althoff(at)novartis.come-mail: media.relations(at)novartis.comNovartis Investor RelationsCentral phone: +41 61 324 7944Ruth +41 61 324 9980 North America:Metzler-ArnoldPierre-Michel +41 61 324 1065 Richard Jarvis +1 212 830 2433BringerJohn Gilardi +41 61 324 3018 Jill Pozarek +1 212 830 2445Thomas +41 61 324 Edwin Valeriano +1 212 830 2456Hungerbuehler 8425Isabella Zinck +41 61 324 7188e-mail: e-mail:investor.relations(at)novartis.com investor.relations(at)novartis.comhttp://hugin.info/134323/R/1352116/327007.pdf --- End of Message ---Novartis International AGPosfach Basel WKN: 904278; ISIN: CH0012005267; Index: SLCI, SMI, SPI, SLIFE;Listed: Main Market in SIX Swiss Exchange, ZLS in BX Berne eXchange;
Datum: 03.11.2009 - 07:15 Uhr
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