Sandoz history

Antirheumatic drug Butazolidin (phenylbutazone) was the company’s first product in 1949.

J. B. Sandoz celebrated its 75th Anniversary in their new brick store building on July 25 and 26, 1953.

Photo #1: 1955 Letter to Dr AM Hubbard from Sandoz Pharmaceuticals regarding the shipment of 43 boxes of LSD ampuls.

Melleril (thioridazine HCl), a neuroleptic drug, was introduced in 1958 – this product marked a milestone in the history of psychotropic pharmaceuticals.

In the middle of 1959 there were 25 affiliated companies and 5 jointly owned factories abroad.

- Sandoz Pharmaceutical Division , published by the Scientific Office of Sandoz Ltd.; Basle, Switzerland (1960)

And in 1964 annual sales surpassed one billion francs for the first time.

In 1967 a merger with Wander Limited of Berne added a nutrition department.

In 1968 the dyes and chemicals divisions were amalgamated and a new agro-chemical division was created.

In 1970, Ciba and Geigy merged to form Ciba-Geigy Ltd.

The oil crisis of 1973, and the consequent rise in prices for raw materials and energy, dramatically affected Sandoz and other manufacturers who could not possible raise the prices of products high enough to cover costs.

In 1975 a five year recession began, which led to another review of company structure, this time to reduce overhead and streamline organization.

A hospital supply business was acquired and its activities combined, during 1976, with those of Rhone-Poulenc in a joint venture.

In 1981, the first transdermal delivery system, Scopoderm TTS (hyoscine hydrobromide) was introduced for travel sickness.

Sandoz entered 1987 with sales over SFr8 billion, profits over SFr500 million, and an equity of more than SFr4.5 billion.

He was also on the Board of Directors and was named Chairman in 1999.

In 2002, the company increased its investment in Roche to just under one-third of Roche’s voting shares.

In 2003, Novartis acquired the worldwide adult medical nutrition business of Mead Johnson and Company, which is a subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb, and also US biotech Idenix Pharmaceuticals, expanding its antiviral medicines unit.

In 2004, The Novartis Institute for Tropical Disease opened in Singapore, with a focus on biomedical research for dengue fever and drug-resistant tuberculosis.

In 2005, Sandoz became the world leader in generic pharmaceuticals after acquiring Germany’s Hexal AG and US-based Eon Labs.

In 2006, Novartis announced the creation of a biomedical R&D centre in Shangai, China.

In 2007, Novartis sold its non-core business divestments of the Gerber and Medical Nutrition Business Units to Nestle for $5.5 billion and $2.5 billion respectively.

Vasella stepped down as Novartis’ CEO in January 2010 and was replaced by Joseph Jimenez, who was the Division Head of Novartis Pharmaceuticals.

He announced his retirement as Chairman of the Board of Directors and was succeeded by Jorg Reinhard in August 2013.

On April 9th 2019, Alcon becomes a separately traded standalone company while Novartis strengthens its focus on Innovative Medicines and generic medicines (Sandoz).