In 1859, Alexander Clavel (1805-1873) takes up the production of fuchsine, a synthetic dye, in his silk dyeing factory in Basel, Switzerland.

The chemical company Kern & Sandoz is founded in Basel, Switzerland in 1886 by Dr. Alfred Kern (1850-1893) and Edouard Sandoz (1853-1928). The first dyes produced are alizarin blue and auramine.

In 1900, Ciba produces its first pharmaceutical substances: Vioform, an antiseptic, and Salen, an antirheumatic agent. This image shows pharmaceutical research at Ciba in Basel, Switzerland in 1914.

In 1917, Professor Arthur Stoll creates a pharmaceutical department at Sandoz, and research begins.

Geigy President Louis von Planta and CIBA President Robert Käppeli shake hands to conclude the merger of CIBA-GEIGY in 1970.

In 1996, the merger of Sandoz and Ciba-Geigy creates Novartis, one of the world's largest healthcare companies. This image, taken on February 3, 1997, shows the old logo being changed out at the Novartis St. Johann site in Basel.

Novartis unifies and strengthens its global research network in 2002 by creating the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR), headquartered in the US in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In 2010, Novartis becomes the world leader in eye care when it acquires majority ownership in Alcon, Inc., based in the US in Fort Worth, Texas.

In 2015, Novartis completes a series of transactions that focus the company on three divisions: Innovative Medicines, Alcon (eye care) and Sandoz (generic medicines).

On April 9, 2019 Alcon became a separately traded standalone company as Novartis strengthened its focus on innovative medicines