About us

External surveys have highlighted that, globally, we develop new medicines faster than the industry average. What’s more, based on R&D productivity, pipeline value and portfolio breadth – we have one of the top Pharma pipelines in the industry.

So how have we managed it? And why has our Horsham centre been able to achieve a sustained flow of new drugs from Research through Development to Launch?

At the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR), our goal is to discover new medicines regularly and predictably, based on an understanding of molecular mechanisms of disease. Our scientists are exploring the intersection of the chemical and biological universes, combining a focus on medicine with bioinformatics, genetics and imaging tools as well as new chemical and screening technologies. The result: an integrative/ reductionist combination that renders the drug discovery process at Novartis Institutes a true scientific frontier.

We aim high

Our R&D goal is to build the most competitive, most innovative research organisation with the most promising pipeline in the industry.

In both 2005 and 2006, Fortune Magazine named Novartis as one of the world’s most admired pharmaceutical companies, and we have been listed in the Financial Times top 50 ‘Best Places to Work’ for the last two years.

We’re the UK affiliate of Novartis AG – a world leader in the research and development of products to protect and improve health and well-being. Headquartered in Basle, Switzerland, and organised into three business divisions – Pharmaceuticals, Consumer Health and Sandoz, its generics division. Novartis AG employs over 81,000 people across 140 countries worldwide.

Our Centre of Excellence for Respiratory Research is located in Horsham, West Sussex, (recently voted in the top two best places to live in Britain). The research centre employs almost 300 multidisciplinary scientists working on one of the largest respiratory diseases programmes in the industry. This £40m world-class centre, which opened in 2001, concentrates on identifying novel disease-relevant targets and discovering innovative medicines for the unmet medical needs in respiratory diseases.

We invest

In the UK alone we spend over £50m each year on R&D and employ a dedicated R&D workforce of more than 600.

Xolair® (omalizumab)
Xolair is the first humanised therapeutic antibody for the treatment of asthma; it was designed to target the antibody immunoglobulin E (IgE), a key underlying cause of the symptoms of allergic asthma. Xolair is the first therapy targeting the cause of allergic reactions and therefore considered a biotech breakthrough.
Visit www.xolair.com

Foradil® (formoterol fumarate inhalation powder) Foradil is a bronchodilator used in the treatment or prevention of bronchial asthma or other chronic pulmonary disorders.
Visit www.foradil.us

We innovate

We are committed to building sustainable competitive advantage for Novartis through the quality, the capability, and ultimately the performance of our people.

Our culture

Our success depends entirely on the creativity, performance, and achievements of our associates at all levels. We value challenge, innovation, collaboration, and learning.

We have a great pedigree

We are committed to giving our associates the opportunity to grow and realize their full potential, and pride ourselves on giving our talented staff the recognition and rewards they deserve. At Novartis, the primary instrument for professional and career advancement is the Organisation and Talent Review (OTR) – an annual, worldwide talent assessment used to identify and develop talent.

Click here to download the Planned Fillings 2007-2010 (PDF) 236k