Sandoz Enters Local Cameroon Production Partnership to Increase Access to Quality Medicines in Sub-Saharan Africa

YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon, April 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

- Sandoz products and technical expertise to support local generics manufacturer Cinpharm achieve cGMP certification

- Local production facilities to supply high-quality, affordable medicines across Cameroon and neighboring countries

- Partnership celebrated by an official ceremony in the presence of the Cameroon Minister of Health and Sandoz officials

Sandoz is pleased to announce that its German affiliate, 1A Pharma GmbH (1A Pharma), has signed an important partnership agreement with Cinpharm S.A. (Cinpharm), a Cameroon-owned and operated generic pharmaceuticals manufacturing company for the production of high-quality medicines for the Sub-Saharan African region. The partnership will allow 1A Pharma to share technical expertise and materials to support Cinpharm to increase local production of high-quality generic medicines in the country.  

"We are very pleased at this opportunity to partner with Cinpharm," said Nick Haggar, Sandoz Head of Western Europe, Middle East and Africa. "With this agreement, we will be able to further increase our ongoing commitment to Sub-Saharan Africa and pave the way for local production of high-quality, affordable medicines."

During the initial phase of the partnership and with the technical support of 1A Pharma, Cinpharm will undertake activities to ensure full compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) standards. Sandoz will also supply Cinpharm with raw materials, including bulk active ingredient and packaging materials, to be used in local production.

"We are very pleased to be partnering with one of the top generic companies in the world," said Celestin Tawamba, President of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer at Cinpharm. "And we are looking forward to the long-term partnership, investment and commitment of Sandoz in Cameroon and Sub-Saharan Africa."

The construction of the Cinpharm production facility was completed in 2010 with support from the German development finance institution DEG - Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH - which finances private-sector investments in developing countries.  The DEG has now helped initiate and facilitate this partnership with Sandoz.

Disclaimer

The foregoing release contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by terminology such as "allow", "further increase", "will undertake activities" or similar expressions, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential new indications or regarding potential future revenues from products. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of management regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. In particular, management's expectations regarding future cooperation could be affected by, among other things, unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; uncertainties regarding actual or potential legal proceedings, including, among others, intellectual property disputes or other legal efforts to prevent or limit Sandoz's business activities, and the uncertain outcome of any such litigation; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; competition in general; government, industry and general public pricing pressures; unexpected manufacturing difficulties or delays; the impact that the foregoing factors could have on the values attributed to the Novartis Group's assets and liabilities as recorded in the Group's consolidated balance sheet, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Sandoz is providing the information in this press release 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.

About Sandoz

Sandoz, a Division of the Novartis group, is a global leader in the field of generic pharmaceuticals, offering a wide array of high-quality, affordable products that are no longer protected by valid and enforceable third-party patents. Sandoz has a portfolio of approximately 1000 compounds and sells its products in about 130 countries. Key product groups include cardiovascular medicines, anti-infectives, treatments for central nervous system and alimentary tract disorders, oncology and respiratory therapies, as well as medications for blood and blood forming organ disorders. Sandoz develops, produces and markets these medicines along with pharmaceutical and biotechnological active substances. In addition to strong organic growth in recent years, Sandoz has made a series of acquisitions including Lek (Slovenia), Sabex (Canada), Hexal (Germany), Eon Labs (US), EBEWE Pharma (Austria), and Oriel Therapeutics (US). In 2011, Sandoz employed more than 24,000 people (full-time equivalents) worldwide and achieved net sales of USD 9.5 billion for the full year. For more information, please visit http://www.sandoz.com.

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SOURCE Sandoz International