. Novartis acquires 85 percent stake in Tianyuan, one of the largest privately held vaccines companies in China
. Novartis to collaborate with Tianyuan on strengthening its existing product portfolio and expanding its innovation capabilities
. Novartis reaffirms its long-standing commitment to improving healthcare for the Chinese people

Basel, March 22, 2011 - Novartis announced today that it completed the transaction to acquire an 85 percent stake in the Chinese vaccines company Zhejiang Tianyuan Bio-Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. This acquisition provides Novartis with an expanded presence in the Chinese vaccines market and is expected to facilitate the introduction of additional Novartis vaccines into China where there continues to be tens of thousands of new cases of vaccine-preventable diseases each year[1].

"This agreement combines the strength of our vaccines R&D strategy and pipeline with Tianyuan's deep knowledge of the vaccines market in China, enabling us to better deliver a broad range of vaccines to the Chinese people," said Andrin Oswald, Head of Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics. "Our collaboration with Tianyuan marks an important step in our strategy and long-standing commitment to improve healthcare in China by delivering effective vaccines that prevent diseases."

Novartis aspires to become a vaccine industry leader in China through targeted investments in vaccines innovation and manufacturing technologies. Novartis plans to collaborate with Tianyuan to strengthen its vaccines portfolio and pipeline, as well as align production processes and quality standards. As part of its commitment to improving healthcare for the Chinese people, Novartis also plans to explore new vaccine developments to address unmet medical needs in China.

"We look forward to working with Novartis to build a broader portfolio of novel and high-quality vaccines to help prevent disease in China and globally," said Mr. Ding Xiaohang, who is the founder, Chairman and CEO of Tianyuan and will continue his position while holding a minority stake. "We have already identified several joint development programs that could be implemented in China over the next ten years, with the potential of launching key products responding to unmet medical needs in the mid-term."

China is the world's third largest vaccines market, with annual industry sales of more than USD 1 billion and expectations for sustained double-digit growth in the future, given the government's commitment to improve access to quality healthcare.