This presentation contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by terminology such as such as “potential,” “expected,” “will,” “planned,” or similar expressions, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential new products, potential new indications for existing products, or regarding potential future revenues from any such products; potential shareholder returns or credit ratings; or regarding the potential outcome of the announced review of options being undertaken to maximize shareholder value of the Alcon Division; or regarding the potential financial or other impact on Novartis or any of our divisions of the significant reorganizations of recent years, including the creation of the Pharmaceuticals and Oncology business units to form the Innovative Medicines Division, the creation of the Global Drug Development organization and Novartis Operations (including Novartis Technical Operations and Novartis Business Services), the transfer of the Ophthalmic Pharmaceuticals products of our Alcon Division to the Innovative Medicines Division, the transfer of selected mature, non-promoted pharmaceutical products from the Innovative Medicines Division to the Sandoz Division, and the transactions with GSK, Lilly and CSL; or regarding the potential impact of the share buyback plan; or regarding potential future sales or earnings of the Novartis Group or any of its divisions; or by discussions of strategy, plans, expectations or intentions. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward looking statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of management 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 any new products will be approved for sale in any market, or that any new indications will be approved for any existing products in any market, or that any approvals which are obtained will be obtained at any particular time, or that any such products will achieve any particular revenue levels. Nor can there be any guarantee that the review of options being undertaken to maximize shareholder value of the Alcon Division will reach any particular results, or at any particular time. Neither can there be any guarantee that Novartis will be able to realize any of the potential strategic benefits, synergies or opportunities as a result of the significant reorganizations of recent years, including the creation of the Pharmaceuticals and Oncology business units to form the Innovative Medicines Division, the creation of the Global Drug Development organization and Novartis Operations (including Novartis Technical Operations and Novartis Business Services), the transfer of the Ophthalmic Pharmaceuticals products of our Alcon Division to the Innovative Medicines Division, the transfer of selected mature, non-promoted pharmaceutical products from the Innovative Medicines Division to the Sandoz Division, and the transactions with GSK, Lilly and CSL. Neither can there be any guarantee that shareholders will achieve any particular level of shareholder returns. Nor can there be any guarantee that the Group, or any of its divisions, will be commercially successful in the future, or achieve any particular credit rating or financial results. In particular, management’s expectations could be affected by, among other things: regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; the potential that the strategic benefits, synergies or opportunities expected from the significant reorganizations of recent years, including the creation of the Pharmaceuticals and Oncology business units to form the Innovative Medicines Division, the creation of the Global Drug Development organization and Novartis Operations (including Novartis Technical Operations and Novartis Business Services), the transfer of the Ophthalmic Pharmaceuticals products of our Alcon Division to the Innovative Medicines Division, the transfer of selected mature, non-promoted pharmaceutical products from the Innovative Medicines Division to the Sandoz Division, and the transactions with GSK, Lilly and CSL may not be realized or may take longer to realize than expected; the inherent uncertainties involved in predicting shareholder returns or credit ratings; the uncertainties inherent in the research and development of new healthcare products, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection, including the ultimate extent of the impact on Novartis of the loss of patent protection and exclusivity on key products which commenced in prior years and will continue this year; safety, quality or manufacturing issues; global trends toward health care cost containment, including ongoing pricing and reimbursement pressures, such as from increased publicity on pharmaceuticals pricing, including in certain large markets; uncertainties regarding actual or potential legal proceedings, including, among others, actual or potential product liability litigation, litigation and investigations regarding sales and marketing practices, intellectual property disputes and government investigations generally; general economic and industry conditions, including uncertainties regarding the effects of the persistently weak economic and financial environment in many countries; uncertainties regarding future global exchange rates; uncertainties regarding future demand for our products; and uncertainties regarding potential significant breaches of data security or data privacy, 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 presentation as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
