Novartis

Public Eye Awards are given to companies with the worst record in terms of environmental pollution and human rights violations. Novartis received the award in 2007 for causing the halt of the production of generic cancer drugs in India. Listed under information due to age of award.
Source: Berne Declaration (2007)

Trileptal is an anti-convulsant and mood-stabilizer that is used to treat epilepsy and bipolar disorders. The drug was designed to subdue partial seizures, or ones that begin in a limited part of the brain. However, manufacturer Novartis marketed Trileptal and five other drugs — Diovan, Exforge, Sandostatin, Tekturna and Zelnorm — for treatments not approved by the FDA, including relieving psychiatric symptoms and pain. The false promotions led to false claims in federal health care plans. Novartis also was accused of paying kickbacks to physicians who prescribed the six drugs. Novartis pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and paid $185 million in 2010. [Listed under Information due to age of court finding]
Source: Drug Watch (2010)

Novartis invested heavily in xenotransplantation research in the late 1990's using transgenic pigs, but stopped its research in the early 2000s. This research caused the deaths of thousands of animals and cost millions of dollars trying to develop animal organs for transplantation into humans. All attempts to carry out animal-to-human organ transplants failed.
Source: Nature (2015)

Novartis Boycott was a campaign undertaken by the DRUG ACTION FORUM, India against Novartis, a pharmaceutical company dedicated to establishing a patent protected market in India, by the removal of barriers to competition. Novartis challenged the rejection of grant for its anti-cancer drug in both the High Court and the Supreme Court of India. The boycott campaign was withdrawn when Novartis lost its Supreme Court case.
Source: Drug Action Forum (2007)

This company is listed on the Federal Contractor Misconduct Database as having 11 instances of misconduct since 1995 amounting to US$791 million in penalties. Instances include false claims, discrimination and illegal marketing.
Source: Project on Government Oversight (POGO) (2014)

As listed on the We Mean Business website, this company has committed to the following climate action initiatives: adopt a science-based emissions reduction target; put a price on carbon;
Source: We Mean Business (2017)

This company appears on the 2021 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, signifying a commitment to supporting gender equality through policy development, representation, and transparency.
Source: Bloomberg (2021)

California, the UK and Australia have all enacted legislation requiring companies operating within their borders to disclose their efforts to eradicate modern slavery from their operations and supply chains. Follow the link to see this company's disclosure statement.
Source: Modern Slavery Registry (2017)

The Corporate Research Project's Corporate Rap Sheets are dossiers summarising the most significant crimes, violations and other questionable activities of the world's largest and most controversial companies. Follow link to see this company's Corporate Rap Sheet. " The businesses that went into the creation of Novartis have frequently been at the center of controversies concerning unsafe drugs and pesticides, price-gouging, improper marketing and toxic dumping. The company also had to pay more than $150 million to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit in the United States. Novartis was widely criticized for its drawn-out but ultimately unsuccessful battle against an Indian patent policy designed to make lower-cost drugs more widely available in poor countries. "
Source: Corporate Research Project (2018)