In 2003 Novartis re-branded its 14 separate generics businesses as Sandoz and it is now one of the largest generic pharmaceutical companies worldwide.
 

Generics are pharmaceutical preparations that contain active ingredients in the same concentration as better known originator drugs and are therefore therapeutically equivalent to the original drug.   They usually appear on the market after the patents of the corresponding originator drugs have expired.
 

Generic pharmaceuticals are held to the same rigid standards as the innovator product, as dictacted by regulatory agencies throughout the world.  Although generic pharmaceuticals are chemically identical to their branded counterparts, they traditionally cost consumers less than the brand product. 
 

In 2005, the acquisitions of Hexal AG, Germany’s leading generics company and Eon Labs in the US continued to build Sandoz’ technology base and expand the already strong capabilities in pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals and anti-infectives.
 

The company has a portfolio of more than 600 active ingredients in over 5,000 dosage forms.