Major facilities
Our principal executive offices are located in Basel, Switzerland. Our divisions operate through a number of affiliates that have offices, research and development facilities, and production sites throughout the world.
We generally own our facilities or have entered into long-term lease arrangements for them. Some of our principal facilities are subject to mortgages and other security interests granted to secure indebtedness to certain financial institutions.
NTO manages the production and supply chains of our Innovative Medicines and Sandoz Division products through a network of 60 manufacturing sites, as well as through external suppliers, and warehouse and distribution centers. AAA manages four sites for radioligand therapies production, and certain other small sites for diagnostics and enriched water production. AveXis manages six sites for research and development, production, warehousing, its headquarters and administrative offices. Endocyte manages two sites for research and its headquarters and administrative offices.
The following table sets forth our major headquarters and most significant production, research and development, and administrative facilities.
| Basel, Switzerland – St. Johann | Global Group headquarters; global Innovative Medicines Division headquarters; Global Sandoz Division; research and development; production of drug substances and drug intermediates |
| Kundl and Schaftenau, Austria | Production of biotechnological products, drug products and finished products, anti‑infectives, active drug substances, product development |
| East Hanover, New Jersey, USA | Innovative Medicines Division US headquarters, research and development |
| Barleben, Germany | Production of broad range of generics finished dosage forms |
| Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA | Research and development |
| Shanghai, China | Research and development |
| Ljubljana, Slovenia | Production of broad range of finished solid and sterile dosage forms |
| Hyderabad, India | General administrative and development global service center |
| Longmont, Colorado, USA | Production, warehouse, and administrative offices for AveXis |
| Stein, Switzerland | Production of sterile vials, pre‑filled syringes and ampoules; inhalation capsules, tablets and transdermals; active pharmaceutical ingredients, and cell and gene therapies |
| Holzkirchen, Germany | Global Sandoz Division headquarters, production of oral films, transdermal delivery systems, matrix patches, product development |
| Menges, Slovenia | Production of drug substances and drug intermediates |
| Strykow, Poland | Production of broad range of bulk oral solid forms and packaging |
| Huningue, France | Production of drug substances for clinical and commercial supply |
| Singapore | Production for Innovative Medicines solids and biologics |
| Barbera, Spain | Production of tablets, capsules and inhalation products |
| Basel – Schweizerhalle, Switzerland | Production of drug substances and drug intermediates |
| Ruell-Malmaison, France | Administrative offices for Innovative Medicines |
| Puurs, Belgium | Production for Innovative Medicines ophthalmic products |
| Tokyo, Japan | Administrative offices for Innovative Medicines and Sandoz |
| Morris Plains, New Jersey, USA | Production for Innovative Medicines Division cell and gene therapies |
| Princeton, New Jersey, USA | Sandoz Division US headquarters |
| Libertyville, Illinois, USA | Production, warehouse, and administrative offices for AveXis |
| Targu Mures, Romania | Production of solids for Innovative Medicines and Sandoz |
| Les Ulis, France | Production for Innovative Medicines Division cell and gene therapies |
| Millburn, New Jersey, USA | AAA primary production site for radioligand therapy |
| Colleretto Giacosa/Ivrea, Italy | AAA primary production site for radioligand therapy |
As our product portfolio evolves, NTO is adapting our manufacturing capacity and capabilities to meet our changing needs, shifting from high-volume products toward lower-volume, customized and personalized medicines. As of December 31, 2019 we have closed, exited or sold, or announced the closure, exit or sale of 19 facilities since 2016. We have also continued to expand our capacity in personalized medicines and complex biologic drugs, such as in Stein, Switzerland, as well as investing in new facilities to provide cell and gene therapies, such as in Les Ulis, France. We are leveraging innovation to increase the reliability and productivity of our manufacturing network, including using data and digital technologies. We continue to seek opportunities to manage our production facilities as efficiently as possible, optimize external spend, and simplify and standardize across our manufacturing network to help us lower costs and help optimize the value of our products. At the same time, we are working to improve our environmental sustainability, for example by reducing energy and water consumption at our sites.
In 2012, we announced the construction of a new state‑of‑the‑art production facility to produce solid dosage form medicines for the Innovative Medicines Division in Stein, Switzerland. In addition, we invested in new technologies and packaging facilities for pharmaceuticals at Stein. Both projects became fully operational in 2019. As of December 31, 2019, the total amount paid and committed to be paid on the Stein projects is equivalent to approximately USD 0.6 billion.
In 2012, we announced the planned construction of a new state‑of‑the‑art biotechnology production site in Singapore. The facility became operational in 2019 and is focused on drug substance manufacturing based on cell culture technology. The facility is co‑located with the pharmaceutical production site based in Tuas, Singapore. As of December 31, 2019, the total amount paid and committed to be paid on this project is equivalent to USD 0.8 billion.
In 2018, AveXis initiated construction of a new 15 800-square-meter state-of-the-art gene therapy manufacturing facility in Durham, North Carolina. The new facility is expected to complement the existing AveXis site in Libertyville, Illinois, and allow for production of multiple gene therapy products simultaneously. The site is expected to be operational in 2020. We expect our investment in this facility to exceed USD 0.2 billion. As of December 31, 2019, the total amount paid and committed to be paid on this project is approximately USD 0.2 billion.
In 2018, we announced our plan to establish a European cell and gene therapy hub in Stein, Switzerland, and the facility was officially opened in November 2019. We expect our investment in this project to exceed USD 0.1 billion. As of December 31, 2019, the total amount paid and committed to be paid on this project is equivalent to USD 0.1 billion.
In 2018, we announced the construction of a new state-of-the-art advanced integrated biologics manufacturing facility in Schaftenau, Austria. We expect our investment in this facility to exceed USD 0.2 billion. We expect phase one of this project to be operational in 2020. As of December 31, 2019, the total amount paid and committed to be paid on this project is equivalent to approximately USD 0.1 billion.
In April 2019, AveXis purchased a former AstraZeneca site in Longmont, Colorado. The new facility is expected to complement the AveXis sites in Libertyville, Illinois, and Durham, North Carolina, and to allow for production of gene therapy products. The site became operational in 2020. We expect our investment in this facility to exceed USD 0.1 billion. As of December 31, 2019, the total amount paid and committed to be paid on this project (excluding the acquisition costs) is approximately USD 0.1 billion.
In November 2019, we began to expand our existing biologics drug substance manufacturing based on cell culture technology in Schaftenau, Austria. We expect our total investment in this project to amount to USD 0.2 billion. We expect this project to be operational in 2022. As of December 31, 2019, the total amount paid and committed to be paid on this project is equivalent to approximately USD 0.1 billion.
Disclaimer:
These materials contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that can generally be identified by words such as “potential,” “expected,” “will,” “planned,” “pipeline,” “outlook,” “may,” “could,” “would,” “anticipate,” “seek,” or similar expressions, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential new products, potential new indications for existing products, potential product launches, or regarding potential future revenues from any such products; or regarding the development or adoption of potentially transformational technologies, treatment modalities and business models; or regarding potential future or pending transactions, including the potential outcome, or financial or other impact on Novartis, of the proposed divestiture of certain portions of our Sandoz Division business in the US; or regarding the potential impact of share buybacks; or regarding potential future sales or earnings of the Group or any of its divisions or potential shareholder returns; or by discussions of strategy, plans, expectations or intentions. Such forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of management regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. In particular, our expectations could be affected by, among other things: global trends toward healthcare cost containment, including ongoing government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures and requirements for increased pricing transparency; uncertainties regarding potential significant breaches of data security or data privacy, or disruptions of our information technology systems; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally, including potential regulatory actions or delays with respect to the proposed transactions or the development of the products described in these materials; the potential that the proposed divestiture of certain portions of our Sandoz Division business in the US or the planned acquisition of the Japanese operations and associated assets of Aspen Global Incorporated may not be completed in the expected time frame, or at all; the potential that the strategic benefits, synergies or opportunities expected from the acquisition of The Medicines Company, the proposed divestiture of certain portions of our Sandoz Division business in the US, or the planned acquisition of the Japanese operations and associated assets of Aspen Global Incorporated, and other transactions described, may not be realized or may be more difficult or take longer to realize than expected; the successful integration of The Medicines Company into the Novartis Group and the timing of such integration; potential adverse reactions to the transaction by customers, suppliers or strategic partners; dependence on key personnel of The Medicines Company; dependence on third parties to fulfill manufacturing and supply obligations; the uncertainties involved in predicting shareholder returns; the uncertainties in the research and development of new healthcare products, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection, including the ultimate extent of the impact on Novartis of the loss of patent protection and exclusivity on key products that commenced in prior years and is expected to continue this year; safety, quality, data integrity, or manufacturing issues; uncertainties involved in the development or adoption of potentially transformational technologies and business models; uncertainties regarding actual or potential legal proceedings, including, among others, product liability litigation, disputes and litigation with business partners or business collaborators, government investigations generally, litigation and investigations regarding sales and marketing practices, and intellectual property disputes; our performance on environmental, social and governance measures; general political, economic and trade conditions, including uncertainties regarding the effects of ongoing instability in various parts of the world; uncertainties regarding future global exchange rates; uncertainties regarding future demand for our products; and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG’s current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in these materials as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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