Sandoz targets growth opportunities in respiratory and complex generics through acquisition of respiratory device company Coalesce

• Sandoz gains significant capabilities and assets in medical and drug device development that target major growth opportunities in respiratory and complex generics
• Respiratory diseases are leading cause of death and disability and impose huge financial burden on patients worldwide
• Acquisition further demonstrates Sandoz commitment to pioneer access for patients

Basel, March 14, 2022 — Sandoz, a Novartis division, announced today that it has successfully acquired the UK-based medical and drug delivery device development company, Coalesce Product Development Limited.

Through this deal, Sandoz has acquired the significant capabilities and assets of Coalesce, which will help it build on its existing portfolio of respiratory medicines and further improve patient access to these high-quality, complex therapies.

“Respiratory and complex generics are areas of relatively high unmet medical need, due largely to their comparatively high technical complexity,” said Sandoz CEO, Richard Saynor.

“At Sandoz, we have the experience and expertise to succeed in these fields and this acquisition offers us a significant new growth platform, particularly in the US and Europe, reinforcing our commitment to pioneer access for patients.”

Respiratory diseases are leading causes of death and disability worldwide.¹ Asthma is a major non-communicable disease affecting both children and adults, and in 2019 it affected an estimated 262 million people.² In the same year, about 3.23 million deaths were attributed to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).³ The resulting burden of respiratory diseases on healthcare systems and productivity amounted to more than USD 380 billion per year across 28 EU member states.⁴

With an existing portfolio of six in market-products and nearly twice as many more in the pipeline, Sandoz sees respiratory as a key pillar of its ambitious long-term growth strategy and intends to actively explore further opportunities both in-house and externally. More generally, Sandoz is determined to grow its portfolio in the complex generics space, including complex injectables.

Disclaimer 
This media update contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as “potential,” “can,” “will,” “plan,” “may,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “look forward,” “believe,” “committed,” “investigational,” “pipeline,” “launch,” or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for the investigational or approved products described in this media update, or regarding potential future revenues from such products. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the investigational or approved products described in this media update will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Neither can there be any guarantee that, if approved, such generic or biosimilar products will be approved for all indications included in the reference product’s label. Nor can there be any guarantee that such products will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, our expectations regarding such products could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; competition in general, including potential approval of additional generic or biosimilar versions of such products; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures and requirements for increased pricing transparency; litigation outcomes, including intellectual property disputes or other legal efforts to prevent or limit Sandoz from selling its products; general political, economic and business conditions, including the effects of and efforts to mitigate pandemic diseases such as COVID-19; safety, quality, data integrity or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG’s current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this media update as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this media update as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Sandoz
Sandoz, a Novartis division, is a global leader in generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars. Our purpose is to pioneer access for patients by developing and commercializing novel, affordable approaches that address unmet medical needs. Our ambition is to be the world’s leading and most valued generics company. Our broad portfolio of high-quality medicines, covering major therapeutic areas, accounted for 2021 sales of USD 9.6 billion.

Sandoz on social media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sandoz
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sandoz_global
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sandozglobal/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandozglobal
CEO Richard Saynor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-saynor/

References

1. Forum of International Respiratory Societies. The Global Impact of Respiratory Disease – Second Edition. Sheffield, European Respiratory Society, 2017.
2. WHO. Asthma Factsheet. 2021. [Online] Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/asthma (Accessed March 2022)
3. WHO. COPD Factsheet. 2021. [Online] Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease-(copd) (Accessed March 2022)
4. The European Respiratory Society. The cost of respiratory disease. European Lung white book. Available at: https://www.erswhitebook.org/about/ (Accessed March 2022)

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