• Novartis organizes annual Community Partnership Day to commemorate the company’s creation in 1996
• More than 10,500 associates worldwide engage in volunteer activities in their communities
• Novartis event emphasizes strong commitment to Corporate Citizenship

About 10,000 associates worldwide joined in the event in 2007, engaging in volunteer work for a wide range of charitable causes. More than 3,600 associates across Switzerland are expected to participate in the 2008 event, and two hundred projects are planned for Novartis volunteers in Switzerland this year. In the Basel area, associates are working on 150 projects such as accompanying disabled children and elderly people on excursions to the zoo or reconditioning forest areas and repairing playgrounds in the region. In Bern, associates will plant reeds along the shores of Lake Bienne, build nests for ring snakes and recondition the dry stone walls in the vineyards. Associates in Nyon are organizing recreational activities for handicapped people and coaching sessions for young people looking for professional reinsertion.

In Belgium, the motto of this year's Partnership Day is "helping to realize the Olympic dream." Among the activities, Novartis associates will organize a fund-raising bicycle tour for the Belgian paralympic team. Further, a team of Novartis employees will play against Belgian paralympic goal ball visually-impaired athletes. Money collected during both events will be given to the Belgian paralympic committee during a special ceremony.

In Canada, more than 150 associates have volunteered to help 10 community groups, including a seniors' citizens residence, women’s shelter, food bank and youth centre. The president of Novartis Canada and local politicians will host a kick-off breakfast to encourage the volunteers as they start their day helping out their community.

In India, the Community Partnership Day is extended to a whole week. During this time, Novartis associates will go out to spread cheer among the elderly, the underprivileged, the physically- and mentally-challenged. For the first time, the local affiliate is collaborating with an NGO in a unique resource mobilization initiative providing clothes and other basic amenities to the have-nots in far-flung areas "“ turning one's waste into a resource for another.

In the Philippines, Novartis associates will reach out to three communities, painting and refurbishing a school in Manila's depressed area, planting a vegetable garden in a temporary shelter and bringing cheer to underprivileged children in an orphanage.

Close to 600 associates from Novartis China will participate in the Partnership Day. In Shanghai, associates will visit an orphanage, at the global Novartis R&D center, they will play host to graduate students while in Beijing, they will plant trees. In Changshu, eastern of China, activities will include cleaning streets and picking garbage on a nearby mountain.

In Slovenia, 120 associates will engage in a wealth of activities, including landscaping the grounds of a climatic spa for children with asthma and other chronic respiratory diseases. They will also renovate a shelter for children who have been removed from their families due to physical violence or psychological abuse, and assist in the Special Olympics held in Lendava, where over 200 children and adults with mental disabilities will compete.

Since the inception of the Community Partnership Day, Novartis Argentina has been a strong and steady supporter of institutions devoted to children and elderly people in need. Associates will spend the day visiting these institutions to donate food and clothes, complete household activities and entertain inhabitants.

In 2007, 66 million patients around the world benefited from Novartis access-to-medicines programs that were valued at USD 937 million. These initiatives range from drug donation and research programs to combat neglected diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and leprosy in developing nations, to patient assistance programs that help cancer patients receive the most innovative and effective treatments.

About Novartis

Novartis provides healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Focused on growth areas in healthcare, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals, preventive vaccines and diagnostic tools, and consumer health products. Novartis is the only company with leading positions in these areas. In 2007, the Group's continuing operations (excluding divestments in 2007) achieved net sales of USD 38.1 billion and net income of USD 6.5 billion. Approximately USD 6.4 billion was invested in R&D activities throughout the Group. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis Group companies employ approximately 98,200 full-time associates and operate in over 140 countries around the world. For more information, please visit www.novartis.com.

Novartis

Novartis

Novartis is an innovative medicines company. Every day, we work to reimagine medicine to improve and extend people’s lives so that patients, healthcare professionals and societies are empowered in the face of serious disease. Our medicines reach more than 250 million people worldwide.

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