Novartis breaks ground on new global Biomedical Research center in San Diego to accelerate drug discovery

• New facility will enable end‑to‑end discovery across key disease areas and technology platforms, joining existing global research sites including Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Basel, Switzerland
• Approximately 466,000-square-foot site withAI-enabled discovery capabilities, expected to house about 1,000 employees
• Part of a USD 23 billion US investment to expand R&D and advanced manufacturing to reach more patients

Basel, February 6, 2026 – Novartis today broke ground on a new, state-of-the-art global Biomedical Research center in San Diego, California, designed to provide world-class scientific infrastructure and drug-discovery capabilities to advance the company’s pipeline for patients.

Once operational in 2029, the approximately 466,000-square-foot facility is expected to house about 1,000 Novartis employees and integrate seamlessly with Novartis global research sites including Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Basel, Switzerland, enabling integrated discovery efforts across regions.

“This new research center will strengthen our scientific leadership and accelerate the discovery of transformative medicines for patients worldwide, while deepening our connectivity with biotech, academic and technology partners across the region,” said Fiona Marshall, President of Biomedical Research at Novartis. “Designed to power future drug discovery, with a focus on genetics and human biology in key therapeutic areas such as neuroscience and oncology, it will create a single Novartis research center within one of the world’s premier life sciences ecosystems—accelerating our pipeline from discovery to patients.”

Government leaders and community partners joined Novartis employees in San Diego to mark the start of construction at the groundbreaking ceremony.

“This investment by Novartis reinforces San Diego as a place where breakthrough science happens and where innovation translates into high-quality jobs and life-changing medicines,” said Todd Gloria, San Diego Mayor. “San Diego is a global leader in life sciences because we bring together world-class talent, cutting-edge research and a collaborative ecosystem that turns discovery into impact. We’re proud to welcome this new research center and to continue building an economy rooted in innovation and results.”

The new facility builds on more than 25 years of Novartis research and development in San Diego and will support end-to-end drug discovery across core disease areas, including neuroscience, global health, oncology and age-related diseases and regenerative medicine. It will also expand the company’s capabilities in next-generation technology platforms, such as gene and cell therapies, RNA-based therapies, biologics and targeted protein degradation, and will advance novel delivery systems that open new therapeutic possibilities.

“Rooted in a strong legacy of innovation in San Diego and California, we are inspired to shape the future—driving new breakthroughs that will transform care for millions of patients worldwide,” said Thierry Diagana, California Sites Head and Global Head of Global Health, Biomedical Research, Novartis.

With advanced artificial intelligence, data and computational capabilities embedded throughout, the facility will be a key part of the global Novartis Biomedical Research network, helping share insights, scale innovation, and deliver meaningful breakthroughs for patients worldwide.

The San Diego research facility is a key pillar of the company’s USD 23 billion US investment. This includes a new flagship manufacturing hub in North Carolina; the opening of a radioligand therapy (RLT) manufacturing facility in Carlsbad, California; investments to expand existing facilities in Indiana and New Jersey; and plans to build new RLT manufacturing facilities in Florida and Texas.

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 potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for the investigational or approved products described in this press release; or regarding potential future revenues from such products; or regarding discussions of strategy, plans, expectations or intentions, including discussions regarding our continued investment into new US R&D or manufacturing capabilities. 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 investigational or approved products described in this press release will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that such products will be commercially successful in the future. Neither can there be any guarantee that the expected benefits from the plans and investments described in this press release will be achieved in the expected timeframe, or at all. In particular, our expectations regarding such products 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 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 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 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.

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