- In 2024, Novartis in Slovenia continued its intensive investment cycle. The total value of executed investments amounted to EUR 257 million, mainly focusing on the construction of new facilities and the introduction of new technologies.
- With new investments and a growth in business activity, the need for new employees is also increasing. In 2024, Novartis in Slovenia hired more than 560 new staff, ending the year with a total of more than 3,900 employees.
- By signing a strategic partnership with the University of Ljubljana, Novartis in Slovenia further strengthened its cooperation with academia, contributing to the joint development of knowledge and innovation.
Ljubljana, January 31, 2025 – On the global scale, Novartis concluded 2024 very successfully and cemented its strategic direction focused exclusively on innovative medicines. Novartis in Slovenia significantly contributed to Novartis’ success as one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies in 2024 and, with an increased scope of work and employee growth, strengthened its role as one of the key locations for the development and production of innovative medicines within the global Novartis network.
“Novartis globally invested USD 9.3 billion in research and development in 2024,” said Aymeric Royere, Novartis Slovenia Country President. “This shows our commitment to continue bringing new innovative medicines to patients worldwide in therapeutic areas where there are still significant unmet treatment needs. At Novartis in Slovenia, we also ensured that all key Novartis medicines, including the newly launched innovative medicines, have been available to patients in Slovenia.”
Petra Štefanič Anderluh, General Manager of Novartis LLC, commented: “Novartis in Slovenia further strengthened its role in the global Novartis network last year. We are responsible for more than half of Novartis’ priority innovative medicines in the various phases of research, development, and production, which demonstrates the trust Novartis places in Slovenian knowledge and experts. The innovative mindset of our colleagues was also confirmed on receiving the gold national award for innovation. After a successful 2024, we entered the new year with renewed motivation.”
In 2024, EUR 257 million of investments made
In 2024, Novartis in Slovenia continued its intensive investment cycle. The total value of executed investment amounted to EUR 257 million, focusing on the construction of new facilities and the introduction of new technologies, including digitalization, automation, and the use of artificial intelligence. Among the largest ongoing investments are the construction of a production plant for aseptic products in Ljubljana, a technical development center for biological medicines in Mengeš, and the construction of a multipurpose plant for the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients in Mengeš.
A major investment project that will be officially opened at an event in early February is the production facility for viral vectors, which play an important role in the breakthrough of new cell and gene therapies. The state-of-the-art facility in Mengeš is Novartis’ first production facility for viral vectors in Europe and significantly expands Novartis’ research and production capabilities in Slovenia in the biopharmaceutical sector.
In Slovenia, we are responsible for various phases of the development and production of more than half of Novartis’ priority innovative medicines for patients worldwide
In the field of research and development, experts at Novartis in Slovenia last year intensively prepared for the start of operations of one of the main investments in research and development of the last few years, namely, the new Center for Technical Development of Biologics. This brings new development capabilities to Slovenia, including clinical production to support the early phases of clinical trials of next-generation biological medicines, which also means the need for new knowledge and the introduction of new work processes. In addition, Novartis strengthened activities in the field of research, and with the introduction of new ways of working in early biologics development they managed to significantly shorten development times, which plays a significant role in speeding up the arrival of new medicines on the market.
In production, Novartis in Slovenia increased its capacities and introduced new technologies, including the production of viral vectors, which are a key part of cell and gene therapies, a continuous manufacturing line, which represents an important advancement in production technology as it allows for more streamlined and innovative production processes, and the expanded production of biological drug substances. In certain areas, it achieved record production volumes. From Slovenia, numerous innovative medicines were launched to markets worldwide, among those three new products to strategic Novartis markets, including US, EU, Japan and China.
All the key Novartis innovative medicines are available to patients in Slovenia
In 2024, Novartis’ innovative medicines in various therapeutic areas reached more than 80,000 patients in Slovenia. 70 Slovenian patients are taking part in clinical studies of innovative medicines in the therapeutic areas of cardiology, oncology, neurology (MS), kidney disease, and diabetes, which allows them very early access to new treatments.
By cooperating with patient associations and co-creating disease awareness campaigns, Novartis in Slovenia also supported patients by sharing information and raising awareness, especially in the areas of cardiology, hematology, oncology, and neurology. The campaign titled “Cholesterol is not a comedy” in which a well-known Slovenian comedian and actor shares his personal experience of a heart attack and calls on people to take care of their health was particularly notable.
Strengthened cooperation with academia in signing up to a strategic partnership with the University of Ljubljana
At the end of 2024, Novartis and the University of Ljubljana signed a strategic cooperation agreement, laying the foundation for further strengthening the partnership in shaping the workforce and talent development within the study process and lifelong learning. The agreement confirms Novartis’ commitment to connecting the economic and academic environment with the aim of developing employees and promoting growth and innovation.
Throughout the year, Novartis has also been strengthening cooperation with Slovenian academic and educational institutions by participating in various events and projects and organizing its own events that promote the exchange of knowledge and good practice – the Novartis Open Academia Day, the BioCamp scientific event, and SciNovate events. The benefits of cooperation between the academic sphere and industry are certainly mutual, and for Slovenian academic and research institutions, cooperation also opens doors to breakthrough innovation projects at Novartis at the global level.
Novartis in Slovenia ended 2024 with more than 3,900 employees
With new investments and a growth in output volumes and scope of work, the need for new employees is increasing. In 2024, Novartis in Slovenia hired more than 560 new staff and ended the year with more than 3,900 employees.
The company has been implementing various HR schemes to attract talent, as new hires are constantly needed throughout the company. Among other things, Novartis organized the summer internship program, announced scholarships, collaborated with various student organizations, and organized the now traditional scientific event BioCamp, which aims to connect students of natural sciences, technology, and entrepreneurship with renowned experts and top managers and provide them with a unique insight into the pharmaceutical industry. Last year more than 30 students from eight countries discussed approaches to cancer treatment using radioligand therapies (RLT), which represent one of Novartis’ advanced technological platforms.
In 2024, Novartis was one of the first companies to introduce pay transparency, allowing employees to view salary bands and comparative analyses. The project promotes pay equality, leadership accountability, and open conversation about pay, for which the company received the award for the best HR project of 2024 at the HR&M festival.
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Novartis
Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people’s lives. We deliver high-value medicines that alleviate society’s greatest burdens of disease through cutting-edge technology in R&D and novel approaches for accessing treatment. Our medicines reach more than 250 million people around the world. For more information, please visit https://www.novartis.com.
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The press release contains statements and forecasts about future business. The forecasts include estimates based on all the information currently available to us. If the assumptions in these forecasts prove to be unreliable, actual performance results could differ from those anticipated.
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For further information, please contact:
Mateja Breznik
Corporate Communications
Novartis Slovenia
https://www.novartis.com/si-sl/
[email protected]