Political donations

According to the democracyforsale.net website, this company donated $601,596 to Australia's major political parties between 2012 and 2018, as disclosed to the Australian Electoral Commision (AEC).

Source: Democracy For Sale (2018)

APCO member

Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) is a not-for-profit organisation leading the development of a circular economy for packaging in Australia. Each year, APCO Members are required to submit an APCO Annual Report and Action Plan, which includes an overall performance level from 1 (Getting Started) to 5 (Beyond Best Practice). This company received a packaging performance level of 2 (Good Progress) in its 2024 APCO Annual Report.

Source: APCO (2024)

Green Power user

This company purchases accredited GreenPower (renewable energy) for their business operations.

Source: Green Power (2018)

Public Eye Award Winner 2007

Public Eye Awards are given to companies with the worst record in terms of environmental pollution and human rights violations. Novartis received the award in 2007 for causing the halt of the production of generic cancer drugs in India. Listed under information due to age of award.

Source: Berne Declaration (2007)

Irresponsible marketing

Trileptal is an anti-convulsant and mood-stabilizer that is used to treat epilepsy and bipolar disorders. The drug was designed to subdue partial seizures, or ones that begin in a limited part of the brain. However, manufacturer Novartis marketed Trileptal and five other drugs — Diovan, Exforge, Sandostatin, Tekturna and Zelnorm — for treatments not approved by the FDA, including relieving psychiatric symptoms and pain. The false promotions led to false claims in federal health care plans. Novartis also was accused of paying kickbacks to physicians who prescribed the six drugs. Novartis pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and paid $185 million in 2010. [Listed under Information due to age of court finding]

Source: Drug Watch (2010)

Xenotransplantation experiments

Novartis invested heavily in xenotransplantation research in the late 1990's using transgenic pigs, but stopped its research in the early 2000s. This research caused the deaths of thousands of animals and cost millions of dollars trying to develop animal organs for transplantation into humans. All attempts to carry out animal-to-human organ transplants failed.

Source: Nature (2015)

Drug patenting in India

Novartis Boycott was a campaign undertaken by the DRUG ACTION FORUM, India against Novartis, a pharmaceutical company dedicated to establishing a patent protected market in India, by the removal of barriers to competition. Novartis challenged the rejection of grant for its anti-cancer drug in both the High Court and the Supreme Court of India. The boycott campaign was withdrawn when Novartis lost its Supreme Court case.

Source: Drug Action Forum (2007)

Fines for misconduct

This company is listed on the Federal Contractor Misconduct Database as having 11 instances of misconduct since 1995 amounting to US$791 million in penalties. Instances include false claims, discrimination and illegal marketing.

Source: Project on Government Oversight (POGO) (2014)

Fined for pharmacy kickbacks

In 2015 the US Justice Department fined this company US$390 million for granting kickbacks to pharmacies that recommended the company's drugs. In a settlement deal, Novartis admitted that it gave specialty pharmacies exceptional rebates and patient referrals in exchange for recommending Exjade, which treats excess iron in blood, and Myfortic, an anti-rejection drug for kidney transplant recipients. The civil settlement is smaller than the $3.3 billion fine the government originally sought in the case. [Listed under Information due to age of settlement]

Source: news article (2015)

44.6% in Newsweek Green Ranking 2017

This company received a score of 44.6/100 in the Newsweek Green Ranking 2017, which ranks the world's largest publicly traded companies on eight indicators covering energy, greenhouse gases, water, waste, fines and penalties, linking executive pay to sustainability targets, board-level committee oversight of environmental issues and third-party audits. Ranking methodology by Corporate Knights and HIP Investor.

Source: Newsweek (2017)

Climate action commitments

As listed on the We Mean Business website, this company has committed to the following climate action initiatives: adopt a science-based emissions reduction target; put a price on carbon; commit to electric vehicles; commit to 100% renewable power.

Source: We Mean Business (2021)

Gender equality

This company appears on the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, signifying a commitment to supporting gender equality through policy development, representation, and transparency.

Source: Bloomberg (2023)

Ellen MacArthur Foundation member

This company is a member of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, whose stated mission is to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation works with business, government and academia to build a framework for an economy that is restorative and regenerative by design.

Source: Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2023)

AMR Industry Alliance member

This company is a member of the AMR Industry Alliance, a coalition of biotech, diagnostics, generics and research-based pharmaceutical companies set up to provide sustainable solutions to curb antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR is an increasingly significant threat to global public health which puts at risk the effective prevention and treatment of a wide range of infections.

Source: AMR Industry Alliance (2021)

Modern Slavery statement

California, the UK and Australia have all enacted legislation requiring companies operating within their borders to disclose their efforts to eradicate modern slavery from their operations and supply chains. Follow the link to see this company's disclosure statement.

Source: company website (2017)

63% in AMR Benchmark

The 2021 Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Benchmark ranks 17 large pharmaceutical companies on their efforts keep medicines and vaccines available, despite the rise of drug resistance. This company received a score of 63%.

Source: Access to Medicine Foundation (2021)

Corporate Rap Sheet

The Corporate Research Project's Corporate Rap Sheets are dossiers summarising the most significant crimes, violations and other questionable activities of the world's largest and most controversial companies. Follow link to see this company's Corporate Rap Sheet. " The businesses that went into the creation of Novartis have frequently been at the center of controversies concerning unsafe drugs and pesticides, price-gouging, improper marketing and toxic dumping. The company also had to pay more than $150 million to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit in the United States. Novartis was widely criticized for its drawn-out but ultimately unsuccessful battle against an Indian patent policy designed to make lower-cost drugs more widely available in poor countries. "

Source: Corporate Research Project (2018)