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"Novartis was founded in 1996 with as a result of the merger of Ciba-Geigy Ltd. and Sandoz Ltd, both Swiss companies with a long history of pharmaceutical experience. Ciba<ref>Novartis, [http://www.novartis.com/about-novartis/company-Geigy was formed in 1970 by history/index.shtml "Novartis History"], Novartis website, accessed December 2008.</ref> Following the merger of J, Novartis reorganized its activities, and spun out its chemicals activities as Ciba Specialty Chemicals, which, in January 1997, became an independent company. R<ref>Ciba, [http://cibasc. Geigy Ltd (founded in Basel in 1758com/index/cmp-index/cmp-about.htm "About Us"], Ciba website, accessed December 2008.</ref> {In September 2008 BASF bought Ciba) and .<ref>[http://www.corporate.basf.com/en/presse/mitteilungen/pm.htm?pmid=3229&id=V00-qN3bGDLaUbcp*WJ "BASF makes offer to acquire Ciba (founded in Basel in 1859)"], Media Release, September 15, 2008.</ref><ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/15/business/basf. Combining the histories of all mering partners involvedphp "BASF buys Swiss specialty chemicals maker Ciba"], the company's effective history spans over 250 years'International Herald Tribune'', September 15, 2008.{{fact}}</ref>
===Ciba-Geigy===
Johann Rudolf Geigy-Gemuseus (1733–1793) began trading in 1758 in materials, chemicals, dyes and drugs of all kinds"[cite this quote] in Basel, Switzerland. Johann Rudolf Geigy-Merian (1830–1917) and Johann Muller-Pack acquired a site in Basel in 1857, where they built a dyewood mill and a dye extraction plant. Two years later, they began the production of synthetic fuchsine. In 1901, they formed the public limited company Geigy and the name of the company was changed to J. R. Geigy Ltd in 1914.
In 1859 Alexander Clavel (1805 – 1873) took up the production of fuchsine in his factory for silk-dyeing works in Basel. In 1864, a new site for the production of synthetic dyes was constructed, and in 1873, Clavel sold his dye factory to the new company Bindschedler & Busch. In 1884 Bindschedler & Busch is transformed into a joint-stock company with the name "Gesellschaft für Chemische Industrie Basel" (Company for Chemical Industry Basel). The abbreviation Ciba was adopted as the company's name in 1945.
In 1925 J. R. Geigy Ltd. began producing textile auxiliaries,[clarification needed] an activity which Ciba took up in 1928.
In 1939, Geigy chemist Paul Hermann Müller discovered that DDT was effective against malaria-bearing insects. He received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for this work in 1948.
Ciba and Geigy merged in 1971 to form Ciba‑Geigy Ltd., and this company merged with Sandoz in 1996 to form Novartis.
===Sandoz===
Founded in 1886 by Dr. Alfred Kern (1850–1893) and Edouard Sandoz (1853–1928). The first dyes manufactured there were alizarine blue and auramine. After Kern's death, the partnership became the corporation Chemische Fabrik vormals Sandoz in 1895. The company began producing the fever-reducing drug antipyrin in the same year. Further pharmaceutical research began in 1917 under Professor Arthur Stoll (1887–1971). In 1899, the company began producing the sugar substitute saccharin.
Between the World Wars, Gynergen (1921) and Calcium-Sandoz (1929) were brought to market. Sandoz also produced chemicals for textiles, paper, and leather, beginning in 1929. In 1939, they began producing agricultural chemicals.
In 2005, Sandoz expanded significantly though the acquisition of Hexal, one of Germany's largest generic drug companies, and Eon Labs, a fast-growing US generic pharmaceutical company.
Sandoz opened its first foreign offices in 1964.
In 1967, Sandoz merged with Wander AG (known for Ovomaltine and Isostar). Sandoz acquired the companies Delmark, Wasabröd (a Swedish manufacturer of crisp bread), and Gerber Products Company (a baby food company).
On 1 November 1986, a fire broke out in a production plant storage room, which led to a large amount of pesticide being released into the upper Rhine river. This exposure had quite a negative impact on the aquatic and environmental surroundings.
In 1995, Sandoz spun off its speciality chemicals business to form Clariant. Subsequently, in 1997, Clariant merged with the speciality chemicals business that was spun off from Hoechst AG in Germany.
===After the merger===
After the merger, Novartis reorganized its activities, and spun out its chemicals activities as Ciba Specialty Chemicals (now a part of BASF).
SW: →Company History: start tidy
==Company History==
In 1998 the company made headlines with its biotechnology licensing agreement with the UC Berkeley Department of Plant and Microbial Biology. Critics of the agreement expressed concern over prospects that the agreement would diminish academic objectivity, or lead to the commercialization of genetically modified plants. The agreement expired in 2003.
