Novartis announces Oncology head to retire

Basel, December 15, 2017 - Novartis announced today that Bruno Strigini, CEO Novartis Oncology has decided to retire from Novartis and the industry for personal reasons.

Joseph Jimenez, CEO of Novartis, said: "I'd like to thank Bruno Strigini for his contributions and achievements. He has navigated the business unit through the Gleevec® patent expiration and has led the successful integration of the GSK Oncology Product Portfolio acquired in 2015. I wish him the best for his future."

Bruno Strigini will step back from the Executive Committee of Novartis by December 31, 2017 and will fully handover in early 2018. Novartis will announce his successor in due time.

Disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which can generally be identified by words such as "to retire," "will," or similar expressions. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of the Group regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee that Novartis will be commercially successful in the future, or achieve any particular financial results. In particular, our expectations could be affected by, among other things, the risks and factors referred to in the Risk Factors section of Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Novartis
Novartis provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, cost-saving generic and biosimilar pharmaceuticals and eye care. Novartis has leading positions globally in each of these areas. In 2016, the Group achieved net sales of USD 48.5 billion, while R&D throughout the Group amounted to approximately USD 9.0 billion. Novartis Group companies employ approximately 121,000 full-time-equivalent associates. Novartis products are sold in approximately 155 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com.

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