Novartis : statement on comment in Swiss media

Basel, March 23, 2021 - On Saturday, March 6, 2021, SonntagsBlick published an interview with Novartis Chairman Joerg Reinhardt, Ph.D., in connection with the 25th anniversary of the founding of the company. In the interview, Mr. Reinhardt was asked about the company's $678 million settlement last year with the United States Government, which resolved claims that during the time period from 2002 to 2011, Novartis used certain promotional programs as a way improperly to induce doctors to prescribe Novartis products, in violation of US anti-kickback law.

In responding to this question, Mr. Reinhardt described the programs as scientific events and stated that the Company may have been too generous on occasion to the doctors in attendance. These comments were inaccurate and inconsistent with the admissions of conduct that Novartis made in its settlement agreement with the US Government. In particular, in paragraph 2(v) of that agreement Novartis admitted that its sales representatives 'selected high-prescribing doctors to become speakers and intended the honoraria paid to induce these doctors to continue to write or to write more Novartis products.' Paragraphs 2(x), 2(ee) and 2(gg) similarly contain admissions that sales representatives hosted speaker programs or roundtables at expensive restaurants, intending to induce the doctors in attendance to write more Novartis prescriptions and that at many of these events there was 'little to no medical discussion.' A copy of the settlement agreement, at which Novartis' complete admissions of conduct are listed in paragraph 2, can be found at the attached link.

Mr. Reinhardt's statements were not intended to minimize or dispute Novartis' admissions of conduct in the Settlement. Instead, as Mr. Reinhardt notes in the article, the conduct and practices at issue 'are history and will not be repeated,' and Novartis reiterates fully the acknowledgements it made in its agreement.

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 'intended,' 'potential,' 'will,' 'acknowledgements 'expect,' or similar terms, or by express or implied statements regarding the admissions of conduct made by Novartis in its settlement agreement with the US Government. 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. In particular, our expectations regarding such statements could be affected by, among other things, the 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 Novartis
Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people's lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world's top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach nearly 800 million people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 109,000 people of more than 145 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at https://www.novartis.com.

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