Novartis named first-ever corporate pharmaceutical partner of the National Football League

• The long-term, exclusive pharmaceutical category agreement is designed to turn fans' passion for the game into a commitment to better health
  
  
• Novartis sports partnership covers the NFL's marquee health initiatives, including Crucial Catch and the annual Health and Safety Summit

EAST HANOVER, N.J., March 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Novartis, a leading innovative medicines company, and the National Football League (NFL) announced an unprecedented partnership that names Novartis as the official first-in-category corporate pharmaceutical partner of the NFL. The exclusive partnership aims to empower football fans everywhere to make proactive decisions about their health, better understand screening guidelines and create a playbook for a healthier future.

Sport has a universal appeal that transcends boundaries, and the NFL has a passionate community that has demonstrated a deep connection to supporting health and wellness initiatives. Novartis has been reimagining medicine and delivering treatment innovations for decades, reaching nearly 300 million patients worldwide in 2024 alone. This first-of-its-kind partnership will unite missions to harness the power of gameday spirit into a dedication for advancing better health, beginning in oncology.

"At the heart of this first-of-its-kind partnership is the ambition to educate and mobilize communities to detect cancer and other diseases early, broadening health solutions beyond medicine," said Victor Bultó, President US, Novartis. "With its nationwide fan base and demonstrated commitment to health advocacy, the NFL is a powerful partner for igniting critical health conversations at an unmatched scale. Together, Novartis and the NFL are working toward leveling the playing field against serious health conditions, empowering every fan to proactively manage their health."

While millions cheer on their favorite teams on the field, too many sideline their own well-being—skipping routine screenings or delaying crucial conversations with healthcare professionals about risks for certain conditions. Within the first year, the joint effort will focus on strengthening the support of the NFL's Crucial Catch initiative alongside the American Cancer Society (ACS), an initiative that promotes cancer awareness, early detection and risk reduction. Novartis will join the league and ACS in their commitment to help more people detect cancer early and address the unequal burden of cancer in under-resourced communities. This is critical as some cancers can be identified early, before they have had a chance to grow and spread. In fact, the 5-year survival rate for many cancers is over 90% when detected early, which means knowing your risk and getting screened are imperative to improving outcomes.¹ To learn more about Crucial Catch, visit NFL.com/CrucialCatch.

"At the NFL, we're always looking for new ways to provide the highest level of care to our players, including through collaboration with experts across the medical field. Novartis is the ideal partner to help us in this mission due to their unparalleled expertise in innovative medicines and their dedication to improving health outcomes," said Chief Medical Officer at the NFL, Dr. Allen Sills. "At our upcoming Medical Summit, and beyond, we'll work with Novartis in leveraging our combined strengths to advance health initiatives and make a lasting impact at the league and in communities across the country."

Novartis will also serve as the league's presenting partner for the upcoming Health and Safety Summit, Pro Football Hall of Fame Game and Hall of Fame Class Presentation at NFL Honors, and the company will support My Cause My Cleats through storytelling around players and the causes most important to them. Novartis will also activate at the 2025 NFL Draft, Super Bowl LX and other special events throughout the season.

"We're thrilled to welcome Novartis as our first-ever corporate partner across the pharmaceutical category," said Senior Vice President, Sponsorship at the NFL Tracie Rodburg. "As we continue to strategically prioritize the health and wellness space, we look forward to working with Novartis. Together we will be able to make an impact in communities for our fans across the 2025 season and in the years ahead."

Novartis in oncology
The Novartis oncology strategy focuses on people living with cancer and those who care for them, from loved ones to clinical care teams, including their providers. For the past 30+ years, the aim has been to extend and improve lives by discovering differentiated, innovative and practice-changing medicines for patients. 

As Novartis reimagines medicine, it collaborates with a wide range of patient advocacy groups and supports education, early cancer screening and diagnosis, all while innovating at a rate that is unparalleled in the industry. With approximately 35 research and development projects across solid tumors, hematology and radioligand therapy (RLT), Novartis is committed to using technology, leading science and patient-centered research to deliver pioneering cancer care for all those in need. 

About the NFL
The National Football League is America's most popular sports league, comprised of 32 franchises that compete each year to win the Super Bowl, the world's biggest annual sporting event. Founded in 1920, the NFL developed the model for the successful modern sports league, including national and international distribution, extensive revenue sharing, competitive excellence, and strong franchises across the country.

About 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 nearly 300 million people worldwide. 

Reimagine medicine with us: Visit us at https://www.novartis.com and connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X/Twitter and Instagram. 

Disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "potential," "can," "will," "plan," "may," "could," "would," "expect," "anticipate," "look forward," "believe," "committed," "investigational," "pipeline," "launch," or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding the partnership with the National Football League (NFL). You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the expected benefits or synergies from this partnership with the NFL will be achieved in the expected timeframe, or at all. In particular, our expectations regarding the partnership with the NFL could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures and requirements for increased pricing transparency; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; general political, economic and business conditions, including the effects of and efforts to mitigate pandemic diseases; safety, quality, data integrity or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this media update as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 

References

1. American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2025. Available at:https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/annual-cancer-facts-and-figures/2025/2025-cancer-facts-and-figures-acs.pdf. Accessed February 27, 2025 

SOURCE Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation