===Environment ===
'''USA: Novartis Phasing Out Genetically Engineered Foods'''
'''Environment News Service'''
'''August 4th, 2000'''
"Novartis, one of the world's leading producers of genetically engineered seeds, has been phasing out genetically engineered ingredients in its food products worldwide for over a year.
Responding to a statement issued by environmental group Greenpeace International yesterday, Novartis Consumer Health U.S. vice president Sheldon Jones told ENS there is nothing new about the company's stand on genetically engineered food.
Greenpeace cited a letter sent by Novartis' European Consumer Health department as evidence the company had stopped producing food containing genetically engineered ingredients in its own brands on June 30.
In particular, the letter stated production of the candy bar Cereal Chocosoja had been stopped because Novartis could not guarantee its non-GM quality."<ref>[http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=681 "Novartis and Genetically Engineered Foods"]</ref>
===Consumer Protection and Product Safety===
'''"INDIA: Novartis Patents Case Far From Dead"'''
'''Inter Press Service News Agency'''
'''August 9th, 2007'''
"Cancer patients in India have reason to be relieved at a high court ruling this week which dismissed a petition by Swiss pharmaceuticals multinational corporation (MNC) Novartis challenging an Indian law which denies patents for minor or trivial improvements to known drugs. At immediate stake is the cost of a leukaemia drug, imatinib mesylate. Novartis prices its brand of the medicine, Gleevec/Glivec, at Rs 120,000 (3,000 US dollars) per dose. Indian generic drug manufacturers sell it at Rs 8,000 (200 dollars). India’s average per capita annual income is equivalent to only a fifth of the price of a single dose of Gleevec/Glivec. Had Novartis been granted a patent on its version of the drug, tens of thousands of Indians would have been deprived of life-saving treatment.<ref>[http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=14631 "Novartis denied patent in India"]</ref>
"The Berlin medical journal "arznei-telegramm" accused Novartis in 2002 of leaving out unfavourable results in the publication of a study of the drug Diovan, in order to make the efficacy of the drug look better than it actually was. The same journal also accused Novartis of illegal marketing practices and creating expectations of efficacy that could not be met."<ref>[http://www.consumersinternational.org "More Consumers International Claims on Novartis"]</ref>
"In 2002, the Swiss consumer protection agency Stiftung für Konsumentenschutz criticized Novartis for misleading consumers. Novartis had stated in its sales promotion that its drug Mebucasol F was new on the market, but the active ingredients would be the same as those of an older but cheaper drug with the name Sangerol."<ref>[http://www.consumersinternational.org "More Consumers International Claims on Novartis"]</ref>
===Anti-Trust and Tax Practices===
'''Farmers Launch Anti-Trust Suit Against Monsanto'''
'''January 4th, 2000'''
"Six farmers -- from the U.S. and France -- named as representatives of farmers worldwide, under the aegis of the National Family Farm Coalition, in a suit formulated by Cohen Milstein Hausfeld & Toll on behalf of a consortium of other firms, have launched a major anti-trust, price fixing law suit against the Monsanto Corp. and nine corporate co-conspirators (including Novartis)"<ref>[http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=574 "Farmers Launch Anti-Trust Suit Against Monsanto and Novartis"]</ref>
In 2004, a class action lawsuit was filed in the US against Novartis accused them of providing fraudulent kickbacks, discounts and rebates to encourage pharmacy benefits managers to put its drugs on their formularies. The case is still pending.<ref>[http://www.consumersinternational.org "Consumers International's list of claims against Novartis"]</ref>
===Social Responsibility Initiatives===
==Governance==