Company Description
Novartis AG (NVS) is an innovative medicines company in the pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing industry. According to its public communications, Novartis focuses on reimagining medicine to improve and extend people's lives, with medicines that reach nearly 300 million people worldwide. The company develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines for serious diseases across multiple therapeutic areas, and its shares trade in the United States under the symbol NVS.
Novartis describes itself as a company that works so that patients, healthcare professionals and societies are empowered in the face of serious disease. Its portfolio and pipeline span immune-mediated conditions, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, neurological and neuromuscular disorders, and other complex conditions. The company highlights four core therapeutic areas and advanced technology platforms in its investor communications, and notes that many of its growth drivers have issued US patent protection extending into the 2030s.
Therapeutic focus and key medicines
Recent regulatory approvals and clinical milestones illustrate Novartis's focus on immune, cardiovascular, renal, neurological and autoimmune diseases:
- Immunology and dermatology: Novartis has developed Rhapsido (remibrutinib), an oral Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor (BTKi) approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for adults with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) who remain symptomatic despite H1 antihistamine treatment. Rhapsido is described as the first FDA-approved BTKi for CSU and is positioned as an oral option that does not require injections or lab monitoring. The company also develops Cosentyx (secukinumab), a fully human biologic that directly inhibits interleukin‑17A and is approved in multiple immune‑mediated inflammatory diseases, including psoriatic arthritis, plaque psoriasis, ankylosing spondylitis, non‑radiographic axial spondyloarthritis and hidradenitis suppurativa, as well as certain pediatric indications.
- Cardiovascular disease: Novartis reports a long-standing focus on cardiovascular disease (CVD), describing a mission to ensure “no heart is lost too soon.” Leqvio (inclisiran) is an injectable prescription medicine indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise to reduce low‑density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‑C) in adults with hypercholesterolemia, including heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia. A recent FDA label update enables its use as monotherapy along with diet and exercise. Novartis also collaborates with other companies, such as Argo Biopharma, on RNA‑based therapeutics for cardiovascular conditions including dyslipidemia and severe hypertriglyceridemia.
- Kidney disease and rare renal disorders: Novartis has built a multi‑asset kidney disease portfolio. Vanrafia (atrasentan) has FDA accelerated approval for reduction of proteinuria in adults with primary immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) at risk of rapid disease progression, as an oral, once‑daily, selective endothelin A receptor antagonist that can be added to supportive care. Fabhalta (iptacopan), an oral inhibitor of the alternative complement pathway, has FDA approval to reduce proteinuria in adults with C3 glomerulopathy (C3G) and is also approved in other indications described in its prescribing information. The company states that it is advancing additional investigational therapies for IgAN and other rare kidney diseases.
- Neuroscience and neuromuscular disease: Novartis emphasizes a growing neuroscience franchise. Through a licensed gene replacement therapy, Itvisma (onasemnogene abeparvovec‑brve) has FDA approval for children two years and older, teens and adults with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) with a confirmed mutation in the SMN1 gene, delivered as a one‑time intrathecal injection intended to replace the SMN1 gene. Novartis has also agreed to acquire Avidity Biosciences, which develops Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates (AOCs) for genetic neuromuscular diseases such as myotonic dystrophy type 1, facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy and Duchenne muscular dystrophy, subject to customary closing conditions.
- Autoimmune and B‑cell–driven diseases: Ianalumab (VAY736) is a fully human monoclonal antibody under investigation for B cell‑driven autoimmune diseases. Novartis has reported that two Phase III trials in Sjögren’s disease (NEPTUNUS‑1 and NEPTUNUS‑2) met their primary endpoints, demonstrating statistically significant improvements in disease activity measured by the EULAR Sjögren’s syndrome disease activity index. The company notes that ianalumab combines B‑cell depletion via antibody‑dependent cellular cytotoxicity with interruption of BAFF‑R–mediated signals.
Research, development and pipeline
Novartis communicates that it is in a “catalyst‑rich” period, projecting more than 15 potentially submission‑enabling readouts over a two‑year horizon and a pipeline of over 30 potential high‑value medicines. It states that at least 10 of these pipeline assets were licensed or acquired in a two‑year period, reflecting an active business development strategy.
The company’s pipeline includes small molecules, monoclonal antibodies, RNA‑targeting therapies and gene replacement therapies. Examples highlighted in public filings and press releases include:
- BTK inhibition in dermatologic and allergic diseases (remibrutinib).
- BAFF‑R–targeting monoclonal antibodies in Sjögren’s disease and other autoimmune conditions (ianalumab).
- Alternative complement pathway inhibition in rare kidney diseases (Fabhalta).
- Select endothelin A receptor antagonism in IgAN (Vanrafia).
- xRNA and siRNA‑based approaches in cardiovascular disease and other areas, including collaborations with companies such as Argo Biopharma.
- Radioligand and radiopharmaceutical collaborations, such as an agreement with Ratio Therapeutics for an SSTR2‑targeting radiotherapeutic candidate for cancer.
Geographic footprint and corporate profile
Novartis AG is based in Basel, Switzerland, and files annual reports on Form 20‑F with the US Securities and Exchange Commission as a foreign private issuer. It communicates with investors through regular Form 6‑K current reports that include press releases on clinical, regulatory, financial and strategic developments. The company notes that its medicines reach patients worldwide and that it engages with stakeholders through multiple channels, including investor events and scientific congresses.
Growth outlook and financial communications
In recent investor‑focused Form 6‑K filings, Novartis has projected a constant‑currency sales compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5–6% for the period 2025–2030, following an upgrade of earlier guidance. It identifies several “de‑risked, in‑market” assets with multi‑billion‑dollar peak sales potential, including Kisqali, Cosentyx, Kesimpta, Pluvicto, Scemblix, Leqvio, Fabhalta and Rhapsido. The company also reports achieving a core operating income margin above 40% over a nine‑month period and indicates an expectation to maintain margins at or above that level over time, while absorbing the impact of planned acquisitions.
Novartis uses its SEC filings to disclose financings, such as multi‑tranche notes issued through Novartis Capital Corporation, and to provide quarterly financial reports. These filings outline its capital structure, non‑IFRS measures such as constant‑currency sales and core results, and the anticipated financial effects of strategic transactions, including the planned acquisition of Avidity Biosciences.
Strategic collaborations and business development
The company frequently enters into licensing and collaboration agreements to complement its internal research. Examples include:
- A global license and collaboration with PTC Therapeutics for the PTC518 Huntington’s disease program, under which Novartis will assume global development, manufacturing and commercial responsibilities following completion of a Phase 2 study segment.
- Multi‑asset license and option agreements with Argo Biopharma for cardiovascular siRNA therapeutics, including rights to discovery‑stage molecules for severe hypertriglyceridemia and mixed dyslipidemia and options for profit‑and‑loss sharing in certain territories.
- An exclusive worldwide license and collaboration with Ratio Therapeutics for a somatostatin receptor 2‑targeting radiotherapeutic candidate for cancer, under which Novartis will lead later‑stage development, manufacturing and commercialization.
These collaborations illustrate Novartis’s stated approach of using external innovation, including RNA‑based platforms and radioligand technologies, to expand its pipeline in cardiovascular, oncology and neuroscience.
Regulatory and scientific engagement
Novartis regularly presents data at major medical congresses, such as the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the American Academy of Dermatology, and nephrology and rheumatology meetings. It highlights long‑term data for established products like Cosentyx and emerging data for investigational agents like remibrutinib and ianalumab. The company also notes that some of its medicines, such as Fabhalta and Vanrafia, are available under accelerated or conditional approvals based on surrogate endpoints like proteinuria reduction, with continued approval contingent on confirmatory evidence.
Across its public disclosures, Novartis emphasizes that many of its forward‑looking statements are subject to research, regulatory, pricing, intellectual property and macroeconomic risks, and it cautions that clinical and financial outcomes may differ from expectations.