New site will capitalize on synergies with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation and benefit from strong local talent pool

"We are pleased to introduce a new Sandoz development center on the Novartis East Hanover campus, a best-in-class facility that will enable us to further build on our strong internal development capability," said Don DeGolyer, President of Sandoz Inc. "Innovative development is at the heart of our strategy and this new center should enable us to capitalize on synergies within Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, as well as benefit from top talent here in New Jersey."

Since 2009, Sandoz has invested considerably into creating a state-of-the art development center, which employs mostly scientists and skilled technicians. The Development Center also hosts members of the Sandoz Regulatory Affairs group.

The East Hanover site is one of many Sandoz development sites worldwide. Development in East Hanover will focus on products that can generally be submitted as Abbreviated New Drug Applications to the FDA for eventual approval as generic alternatives to branded pharmaceutical products.

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Disclaimer
The foregoing release contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by terminology such as "will," "strategy," "pipeline," or similar expressions, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential future revenues. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of the Company regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee that any products will achieve any particular levels of revenue in the future. In particular, management's expectations could be affected by, among other things, unexpected inabilities to maintain exclusivity periods for our product; FDA approval of additional versions of generic products; competition in general; government, industry and general public pricing pressures; unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; patent litigation outcomes; the impact that the foregoing factors could have on the values attributed to the Novartis Group's assets and liabilities as recorded in the Group's consolidated balance sheet, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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About Sandoz
Sandoz, a Division of the Novartis group, is a global leader in the field of generic pharmaceuticals, offering a wide array of high-quality, affordable products that are no longer protected by patents. Sandoz has a portfolio of about 1000 compounds and sells its products in more than 130 countries. Key product groups include antibiotics, treatments for central nervous system disorders, gastrointestinal medicines, cardiovascular treatments and hormone therapies. Sandoz develops, produces and markets these medicines along with pharmaceutical and biotechnological active substances and anti-infectives. In addition to strong organic growth in recent years, Sandoz has made a series of acquisitions including Lek (Slovenia), Sabex (Canada), Hexal (Germany), Eon Labs (US), EBEWE Pharma (Austria) and Oriel Therapeutics (US). In 2009, Sandoz employed around 23,000 people worldwide and posted sales of USD 7.5 billion.
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For further information
Sandoz US Communications:
Ted Deutsch
+1 609 627 5287
Sandoz Global Communications:
Marija Mandic
+ 49 8024 476 2597