Novartis is a multinational pharmaceutical company based out of Basel, Switzerland. In 2018, the company saw its highest number of full-time employees in history with over 125,000 employees. In 2023, the company's workforce dropped to around 76 thousand full-time employees due to the spin-off of generic drug division Sandoz.
Novartis’ company profile
As of 2023, Novartis had two company divisions: "Promoted brands" and "Established brands". Oncology is the most important therapeutic area generating around one quarter of the company’s total revenue. Until the spin-off in mid-2023, Sandoz was the company’s generics and biosimilars pharmaceutical division with a global focus. Until April 2019, Alcon was Novartis' division specialized in eye care, but then became an own company. While the number of employees at Novartis has fluctuated, the number of patients the company reaches every year has been on the decline. As well as a decrease in the number of patients reached, the company has also decreased their advertising spending in recent years.
Novartis’ global positioning
Novartis is ranked among the top pharmaceutical companies globally. Recently the company was ranked sixth based on market capitalization. Other top companies included Johnson & Johnson and Roche. The company was also ranked fourth, after Pfizer, AbbVie, and J&J, based on prescription sales in 2022. Based on research and development spending as a share of revenue, Novartis was ranked sixth among top pharmaceutical companies.
Total number of Novartis AG's full-time employees from 2009 to 2023
Own employees in continuing operations.
* With the 2015 Annual Report, figures back to 2011 were restated, as a result of a series of transactions during 2015.
** During 2019, eye care division Alcon was spun off and became an own company. Thus, Alcon's employees are not included from 2019 onwards.
*** During 2023, generics division Sandoz was spun off and became an own company. Thus, Sandoz employees are not included from 2023 onwards.
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Novartis. (January 31, 2024). Total number of Novartis AG's full-time employees from 2009 to 2023 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 22, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/505851/number-of-full-time-employees-at-novartis-by-division/
Novartis. "Total number of Novartis AG's full-time employees from 2009 to 2023." Chart. January 31, 2024. Statista. Accessed December 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/505851/number-of-full-time-employees-at-novartis-by-division/
Novartis. (2024). Total number of Novartis AG's full-time employees from 2009 to 2023. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: December 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/505851/number-of-full-time-employees-at-novartis-by-division/
Novartis. "Total Number of Novartis Ag's Full-time Employees from 2009 to 2023." Statista, Statista Inc., 31 Jan 2024, https://www.statista.com/statistics/505851/number-of-full-time-employees-at-novartis-by-division/
Novartis, Total number of Novartis AG's full-time employees from 2009 to 2023 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/505851/number-of-full-time-employees-at-novartis-by-division/ (last visited December 22, 2024)
Total number of Novartis AG's full-time employees from 2009 to 2023 [Graph], Novartis, January 31, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/505851/number-of-full-time-employees-at-novartis-by-division/