Novartis

What Novartis does

Novartis AG is a Swiss-headquartered global pharmaceutical company (NYSE: NVS; SIX: NOVN) that researches, develops, manufactures, and commercializes innovative prescription medicines across four core therapeutic areas: cardiovascular/renal/metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology. Headquartered in Basel with operations in over 50 countries, the company maintains an integrated technology platform spanning small molecules, biologics, antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates (AOC), radioligand therapy (RLT) with alpha- and beta-emitting isotopes, CAR-T cell therapy, gene therapy, molecular glue degraders, and AI-driven drug discovery partnerships. The 2025 oncology segment generated $16.8 billion in revenue (18% YoY growth), anchored by the Pluvicto/Lutathera radioligand therapy franchise ($2.8 billion combined in 2025, with Pluvicto projected to reach $5 billion by 2030), and management has guided to 5–6% annual sales growth through 2030.

Novartis's marketed portfolio includes Pluvicto (lutetium-177 PSMA-617 RLT for prostate cancer), Lutathera (lutetium-177 DOTATATE for neuroendocrine tumors), Cosentyx (secukinumab IL-17A inhibitor), Scemblix (asciminib STAMP inhibitor for CML), Vanrafia (atrasentan for IgA nephropathy), Rhapsido (remibrutinib BTK inhibitor for urticaria), Fabhalta (iptacopan complement Factor B inhibitor), ianalumab (anti-BAFF-R antibody in Phase III), and Kymriah (the first FDA-approved CAR-T therapy). The pipeline has been materially expanded by recent acquisitions: Avidity Biosciences ($12 billion, March 2026) added a muscle-directed AOC platform with three late-stage programs including delpacibart braxlosiran for FSHD; Mariana Oncology added RLT candidates for solid tumors including actinium-225 programs; MorphoSys (€2.7 billion, 2024) contributed pelabresib and tulmimetostat; Pikavation/Synnovation ($3 billion) added the PI3Kα inhibitor SNV4818; and Excellergy ($2 billion) added the anti-IgE antibody Exl-111.

The company generates revenue primarily through direct sales of branded prescription medicines to healthcare providers, hospitals, and patients via an enterprise field sales motion across global markets, supplemented by upfront and milestone payments from biotech licensing collaborations (Antares up to $1.9 billion; Orionis up to $1.4 billion; Monte Rosa up to $5.7 billion; Isomorphic Labs strategic agreement) and tiered royalties on approved products. Pricing is value-based and not publicly disclosed, with Novartis having committed to Most-Favored-Nation pricing for US medicines as part of a Swiss-US framework agreement. The company is investing $50 billion in US manufacturing and R&D, anchored by a new 10,000-square-foot radioligand therapy facility in Carlsbad, California opened in May 2026. Notable headwinds include US generic erosion on Entresto and Promacta, a complete loss in the Curium patent dispute affecting Lutathera, a Supreme Court denial regarding Medicare drug-price negotiation, and a state-level whistleblower lawsuit concerning Xolair, partially offset by the launch momentum in radioligand therapy and immunology. Management is led by CEO Vasant (Vas) Narasimhan with a 13-member Executive Committee and a 13-member Board chaired by Giovanni Caforio.

Name

Novartis

Legal name

Novartis AG

Website

https://novartis.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Novartis AG is a Swiss-headquartered global pharmaceutical company that researches, develops, and commercializes innovative prescription medicines across oncology, immunology, cardiovascular/renal, and neuroscience, serving patients in over 50 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Prescription Pharmaceuticals

NAICS

Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing (32541), Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412)

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836), Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)

akta.pro primary industry

Neurology & Psychiatry (CNS) Pharmaceuticals (HLAIAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Neurology & CNS Specialty Pharmaceuticals (HLAIACAC)

Keywords

• Prescription pharmaceuticals
• Radioligand therapy
• Oncology treatments
• Immunology biologics
• Rare disease therapies

Headquarters

HQ city

Basel

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Pharmaceutical Product Sales: Direct sales of innovative medicines (prescription drugs) to healthcare providers, hospitals, and patients; major revenue drivers include Pluvicto and Lutathera (radioligand therapy franchise generating $2.8 billion in 2025 net sales), oncology segment generated $16.8 billion in 2025 sales (18% growth), with Pluvicto projected to reach $5 billion in sales by 2030.
2. Strategic Collaboration Upfront and Milestone Payments: Upfront cash payments and milestone-based payments from licensing/co-development deals with smaller biotech partners. Recent examples include $105M upfront to Antares Therapeutics (up to $1.9B total), $40M upfront to Orionis Biosciences (up to $1.4B), and $105M upfront to Monte Rosa (up to $5.7B).
3. Royalty and Tiered Royalty Income: Tiered royalties on global net sales from collaboration products. Example: Novartis will pay tiered royalties to Antares, Orionis, and Monte Rosa on net sales of approved drugs emerging from these collaborations.
4. M&A-Driven Portfolio Revenue: Acquired product revenue streams integrated post-acquisition. Novartis has completed 43 acquisitions spanning 7 countries and 23 sectors, with peak activity in 2024 and 2016 (5 deals each); most recent being Excellergy in March 2026 ($2B), Avidity ($12B), and Pikavation/Synnovation ($3B).
5. Geographic Market Expansion Revenue: Country-specific market expansion including India launch of Pluvicto as first regulatory-approved radioligand therapy for advanced prostate cancer, in collaboration with select hospitals and nuclear medicine centres, despite having sold 70.68% stake in Novartis India to ChrysCapital for ₹1,446 crore ($159M).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Core offering

Novartis researches, develops, manufactures, and commercializes innovative prescription medicines across four therapeutic areas: Cardiovascular/Renal/Metabolic, Immunology, Neuroscience, and Oncology. Its marketed-product portfolio includes the radioligand therapy franchise (Pluvicto, Lutathera), immunology biologics (Cosentyx, ianalumab), oncology targeted therapies (Scemblix, Vanrafia, Kymriah), and antisense/RNA therapies (del-brax), with a pipeline supplemented by technology platforms in CAR-T, gene therapy, antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates, and AI-driven drug discovery.

Product overview

Novartis operates as an integrated platform of innovative medicines plus dedicated technology platforms, organized around four therapeutic areas (Cardiovascular/Renal/Metabolic, Immunology, Neuroscience, Oncology). The marketed-product core spans multiple high-value franchises: the radioligand-therapy (RLT) franchise (Pluvicto and Lutathera, together generating ~USD 2.8B in 2025 sales) anchors a growing actinium-225 program (225Ac-PSMA-617); immunology is led by Cosentyx, Rhapsido and ianalumab; oncology by Scemblix, Vanrafia, Kisqali and the Kymriah CAR-T platform; renal by Vanrafia and Fabhalta; and the del-brax antisense program (acquired with Avidity) addresses FSHD. Novartis augments its in-house pipeline through targeted acquisitions (Avidity Biosciences USD 12B, Pikavation/SNV4818 USD 3B, Excellergy USD 2B, Mariana Oncology, Kedalion, Gyroscope, Arctos, MorphoSys, Tourmaline) and discovery collaborations (Antares, Orionis, Monte Rosa, Isomorphic Labs), all running on technology platforms that include CAR-T cell therapy manufacturing, gene therapy manufacturing, a USD 50B U.S. R&D and manufacturing expansion, and a deep genomic-research dataset (Pakistan Genome Resource). Together, these named products, technology platforms, and partnerships form the modular architecture of Novartis's medicines business.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Novartis Gene Therapies: Distinct Novartis business unit dedicated to gene therapy development and manufacturing (referenced on About menu of Novartis.com).
• Novartis Pharmaceuticals

Products and services

• Pluvicto (177Lu vipivotide tetraxetan / 177Lu-PSMA-617) First-in-class PSMA-targeted radioligand therapy delivering lutetium-177 radiation directly to PSMA-positive prostate cancer cells; FDA-approved March 2022 for PSMA-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer; combined Pluvicto+Lutathera generated $2.8B in 2025 net sales; projected to reach $5B by 2030.
• Lutathera (177Lu-DOTATATE) FDA-approved radioligand therapy for gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) marketed by Novartis subsidiary Advanced Accelerator Applications (AAA); combined with Pluvicto, generated $2.8B in 2025 net sales.
• Cosentyx (secukinumab) Anti-IL-17A monoclonal antibody for autoimmune diseases including psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, hidradenitis suppurativa, and (per 2026 REPLENISH Phase III data) polymyalgia rheumatica.
• Scemblix (asciminib) First-in-class STAMP (Specifically Targeting the ABL Myristoyl Pocket) inhibitor for chronic myeloid leukemia; 144-week ASC4FIRST Phase III data showed ~24% higher major molecular response vs standard-of-care TKIs and >50% lower discontinuation rates.
• Vanrafia (atrasentan) Endothelin receptor antagonist for IgA nephropathy; final 2.5-year ALIGN Phase III results showed ~34% slowing of kidney function decline vs placebo with sustained 38.3% proteinuria reduction at 9 months.
• Rhapsido (remibrutinib) Oral BTK inhibitor for chronic spontaneous urticaria, chronic inducible urticaria (CIndU) and IgE-mediated peanut allergy; first treatment to demonstrate efficacy in a global Phase III CIndU trial (RemIND); supplemental NDA submitted to FDA.
• Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel)
• Fabhalta (iptacopan)
• ianalumab
• del-brax (delpacibart braxlosiran) Investigational antibody-oligonucleotide conjugate for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD); FORTITUDE Phase I/II biomarker cohort met primary endpoint (KHDC1L reduction) and key secondary endpoint (CK reduction); acquired via $12B purchase of Avidity Biosciences.
• Exl-111 (anti-IgE antibody) Half-life extended, high-affinity anti-IgE antibody in Phase 1 development (DISARM trial) for food allergy and IgE-driven diseases; designed to dissociate receptor-bound IgE for faster, deeper pathway suppression than conventional anti-IgE approaches; acquired via $2B Excellergy deal.
• SNV4818 Pan-mutant-selective PI3Kα inhibitor in Phase 1/2 development for HR+/HER2- breast cancer, designed to selectively target mutated PI3Kα (in ~40% of HR+/HER2- breast cancer patients) while sparing healthy cells.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability14 records

Feature8 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Roche: Swiss-headquartered global pharmaceutical company with comparable oncology (including radioligand therapy) and immunology franchises, similar therapeutic-area breadth, and a similarly large innovative-medicines R&D platform.
• Pfizer: Top-tier U.S. pharma with overlapping oncology, immunology, and rare-disease franchises and a similarly active M&A strategy (Seagen $43B). Direct peer across innovative branded pharmaceuticals and large-cap R&D scale.
• Merck & Co. U.S. major pharma with leading oncology franchise (Keytruda) and similar exposure to IRA pricing pressure and patent-cliff dynamics; competes in immuno-oncology, renal cell carcinoma, and antibody-drug conjugates that overlap Novartis's AOC ambitions.
• AstraZeneca: Global pharma with parallel oncology, renal/cardiovascular, and rare-disease franchises; AZ also has a leading radioligand therapy program (Lumakras, Pluvicto competitor efforts, and its own Ac-225 supply agreement with Niowave) — directly comparable in RLT pipeline and oncology focus.
• Bristol-Myers Squibb: U.S. major pharma with comparable oncology, immunology, and cardiovascular franchises, similar IRA exposure, and parallel late-stage pipeline investments in cell therapy, ADCs, and immunology — directly comparable revenue scale and therapeutic-area mix.
• Sanofi: European-headquartered pharma with overlapping immunology, rare-disease, and oncology ambitions; Sanofi's CEO co-authored an April 2025 FT op-ed with Vas Narasimhan on European pharma competitiveness. Highly comparable in geographic and therapeutic profile.
• Eli Lilly: U.S. major pharma with comparable innovative-medicines franchise, recent Isomorphic Labs AI drug-design partnership, and active expansion in oncology and rare diseases — Lilly is Novartis's AI-discovery partner co-counterparty and a direct therapeutic-area peer.
• GSK: U.K.-headquartered pharma with comparable immunology (JAKs, BTK, IL-pathway agents) and oncology R&D pipelines; competes with Rhapsido in chronic urticaria and with Cosentyx in autoimmune diseases — directly comparable in targeted-therapy and immunology.

Broad incumbents

• Johnson & Johnson (Innovative Medicine): Diversified healthcare giant with an Innovative Medicine pharma segment that overlaps Novartis's oncology, immunology, and pulmonary hypertension portfolios; large-cap peer with similar M&A scale and IRA exposure.

Regional players

• Bayer (Pharmaceuticals): European-headquartered pharma with oncology and cardiovascular franchises that overlap Novartis's CRM therapeutic area; comparable in European geographic footprint though with weaker U.S. presence in radioligand therapy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles28 records

Subsidiaries9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A44 records

Investments86 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Novartis