Sandoz - History Before Novartis

History Before Novartis

Before the 1996 merger with Ciba-Geigy to form Novartis, Sandoz Pharmaceuticals (Sandoz AG) was a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basle, Switzerland (as was Ciba-Geigy), and was best known for developing drugs such as Sandimmune for organ transplantation, the antipsychotic Clozaril, Mellaril Tablets and Serentil Tablets for treating psychiatric disorders, and Cafergot Tablets and Torecan Suppositories for treating migraine headaches.

Sandoz was also known for one of its scientists, Albert Hofmann, who synthesized LSD in 1938 and by 1949 was marketing it as a psychiatric drug under the trade name Delysid. The Sandoz product received mass publicity as early as 1954, in a Time Magazine feature.