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Novartis

foreign owner

michael cohen trump fixer

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NYT

Among the other payments to Mr. Cohen’s company described in the financial records were four for $99,980 each between October and January by Novartis Investments S.A.R.L., a subsidiary of Novartis, the multinational pharmaceutical giant based in Switzerland. Novartis — whose chief executive was among 15 business leaders invited to dinner with Mr. Trump at the World Economic Forum in January — spent more than $10 million on lobbying in Washington last year and frequently seeks approvals from federal drug regulators. Novartis said in a statement that its agreement with Essential Consultants had expired.

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https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/these-pharmaceutical-companies-are-funding-spread-covid-misinformation-fox

04/10/20

Many pharmaceutical companies that are conducting ongoing research into COVID-19 therapeutics and vaccines are among the top sponsors of the Fox News Channel,a cesspool of medical misinformation, racist fearmongering, and reckless speculation that put vulnerable populations in harm’s way. These companies, many of which are spending millions to research therapies and donate specialized resources that might alleviate the toll of the virus, are undermining their own work by advertising on Fox News, whose coverage of the pandemic has been described as a “genuine public health threat.”

Here’s a list of these pharmaceutical companies. You can let them know they must stop sponsoring the spread of deadly misinformation during a global pandemic.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)

GlaxoSmithKline is a U.K.-based global pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturer and a leading Fox News advertiser. It has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into researching COVID-19 therapeutics and has partnered with the British government and AstraZeneca to set up a testing facility at the University of Cambridge.

The company has run over 3,000 ads on Fox News since January 2019 and recently advertised on shows that have misinformed viewers about COVID-19, including Fox & Friends and The Next Revolution with Steve Hilton.

Pfizer Inc.

Pfizer is an American biopharmaceutical company and a top Fox News advertiser. The company has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to scale up its manufacturing capacity to fight COVID-19 and is running multiple studies into potential therapeutics.

Pfizer has run over 2,600 ads on Fox News since January 2019.

Novartis

Novartis is a Swiss pharmaceutical manufacturer and a Fox News advertiser. The company makes hydroxychloroquine and has promised to donate its entire inventory “not already allocated to existing orders and customers” to combat COVID-19. It also recently established the COVID-19 Response Fund, pledging “$20 million in grants to support public health initiatives.”

The company has run nearly 1,900 ads on Fox News since January 2019. In 2020, it has advertised on shows hosted by COVID misinformers such as Maria Bartiromo and Laura Ingraham.

Sanofi

Sanofi is a multinational pharmaceutical company, a manufacturer of hydroxychloroquine, and a top advertiser on COVID misinformer Sean Hannity’s prime-time show.

In collaboration with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi is currently testing a prescription medication designed to treat rheumatoid arthritis among COVID patients in New York with the hope that the drug can alleviate fevers and aid patients with oxygen intake.

Since January 2019, Sanofi-owned brands have advertised on Fox News over 1,700 times. Besides being a top advertiser on Hannity, Sanofi has paid for programming on shows that have advocated for the premature end to social distancing guidelines, includingThe Ingraham Angleand Fox & Friends. Previously, Sanofi dropped Bill O’Reilly’s now-defunct prime-time show when he was accused of sexual harassment by multiple women. It remains to be seen if the company will do the same when even more is at stake.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals

Vanda Pharmaceuticals is a therapeutics manufacturer based in Washington, D.C. It is currently running a clinical study of potential COVID treatments. The company has run 269 advertisements on Fox News since January 2019, including following Sean Hannity’s interview with President Donald Trump in which Trump touted “potential cures” for coronavirus that might benefit Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Bayer

Bayer is a multinational pharmaceutical manufacturer that also manufactures chloroquine phosphate, and it is a top advertiser on Hannity and Fox News overall. The company has made multiple pledges to donate resources to fight COVID-19 in the U.S. and Spain. It is also paying for the spread of medical misinformation by advertising on Fox News: the company has run over 3,900 ads since January 2019, including 493 since the beginning of 2020. Brands owned by Bayer that run advertisements on the network include Bayer Aspirin, Aleve, Claritin, Dr. Scholl’s and Alka-Seltzer, among many others.

Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences is a California-based pharmaceutical research and development company that has a forthcoming study of its drug Remdesivir and whether it has therapeutic properties to treat COVID-19. It has run 269 advertisements on Fox since January 2019. This year, the company advertised on shows hosted by coronavirus misinformers, including Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro.

AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a multinational biopharmaceutical company that frequently advertises on Fox News.The company is currently researching potential treatments for coronavirus using antibody therapeutics. It has also publicly committed to donating 9 million face masks to health care workers across the world. The company is also a major sponsor of programs spreading COVID-19 misinformation; since January 2019 it has run over 700 advertisements on Fox News, including on Fox & Friends, and The Five.

Takeda

Takeda is a global pharmaceutical company and a Fox News advertiser that recently announced it is partnering with plasma companies to develop an antibody therapeutic to treat complications associated with COVID-19.It has advertised on Fox 563 times since January 2019and recently ran ads on The Next Revolution with Steve Hilton, a show that has promoted an approach to COVID-19 that runs afoul of guidance from public health experts.

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2007

Bridgestone received the Global Award for the disastrous working conditions at a subsidiary in Liberia.[10] The workers lived in mud huts, the children were forced to work, and they had to handle highly toxic materials without protection.[11] Novartis received the Swiss Award for the patenting of the cancer drug Imatinib, forcing a halt in production of Indian generics. As a result, ten thousand patients worldwide could no longer afford medication that slowed the spread of leukemia.[12] The product from Novartis is ten times more expensive than the generics.[13]

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the early days of President Trump's administration, Trump had a friend in AT&T Inc. Chief Executive Randall Stephenson.

The telecom executive described himself as one of Trump's "biggest defenders on public policy." He met with the president-elect at Trump Tower and talked about all the jobs that the largest U.S. phone company would create. Stephenson also praised Trump to investors, saying the president would usher in a new era of corporate tax relief and fewer regulations.

And as it turned out, AT&T's relationship with the fledgling administration went deeper. The carrier acknowledged Tuesday that it hired a firm founded by Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, seeking "insights" on how the unorthodox president would govern. It also wanted guidance on how Trump would respond to its plan to acquire Time Warner Inc., according to a person briefed on the matter.

AT&T said it cut ties with Cohen's firm in December, shortly after receiving word that the administration would try to block its Time Warner deal — a move that Stephenson described at the time as "a big curve ball."

The question now is whether AT&T's payments were an attempt to influence Trump's views on the Time Warner deal or just research on a new and idiosyncratic administration. In addition to seeking guidance on the Time Warner transaction, the carrier also asked for information on tax reform and net neutrality policies, said the person familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations were private.

Stormy Daniels

The relationship came to light Tuesday, when AT&T was cited by attorney Michael Avenatti as one of the parties that made payments to Cohen's firm. Avenatti is representing Stephanie Clifford, the porn actress known as Stormy Daniels, who was paid $130,000 by Cohen just before the 2016 presidential election not to discuss an alleged tryst with Trump.

Larry Solomon, a spokesman for AT&T, confirmed the relationship Tuesday.

It "was one of several firms we engaged in early 2017 to provide insights into understanding the new administration," he said in an email. "They did no legal or lobbying work for us, and the contract ended in December 2017."

It isn't clear why AT&T would use Cohen, considering that he was a personal lawyer to Trump and not in the administration.

Russia allegations

The acknowledgment pulls AT&T into a rapidly unfolding legal saga involving the president, his lawyer and alleged ties to Russia. Avenatti also alleged that a company connected to a Russian oligarch sent $500,000 last year to Cohen's business.

Essential Consultants is a Delaware limited-liability company started by Cohen, and it has been identified as the source of the hush payment to Daniels.

Cohen wouldn't have had to register as a lobbyist unless he spent 20% of the time he devoted to AT&T on efforts to influence the federal government while having at least two contacts with one or more high-ranking government officials, including members of Congress, their staff or administration officials.

AT&T’s payments

AT&T, based in Dallas, made four payments of $50,000 apiece around the end of last year, according to Avenatti. But the company's statement that the consulting arrangement started in early 2017 suggests there may have been other payments.

The carrier announced just before the election that it would acquire Time Warner, embarking on a "vertical merger" that would bind entertainment and news content with AT&T's network infrastructure. There were reasons for concern about the deal: Trump regularly criticized Time Warner's CNN unit on the campaign trail and threatened to derail any merger.

But AT&T and Time Warner weren't competitors, so Stephenson assumed the deal wouldn't be opposed on antitrust grounds.

"We were obviously surprised when the government decided to try and block the merger," he said during a conference call in January. "It is a classic vertical merger between two companies that don't even compete with one another. With 50 years of legal precedent, it's the type of business combination that the government has consistently approved with appropriate conditions."

Courtroom battle

The Justice Department's fight against the merger ultimately proved fierce. The two sides are just now wrapping up a six-week courtroom battle over it.

The companies and the government have filed hundreds of pages of post-trial documents, and U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington is weighing whether to bless the $85-billion deal or block it. He plans to announce his decision June 12.

Critics have spent years accusing Hillary Clinton of making policy decisions during her time as secretary of State based on the interests of corporate and foreign government donors to the Clinton Foundation, especially to the Clinton Global Initiative.

Trump and other Republicans alleged during the 2016 campaign that Clinton's decisions as president would be swayed by donors who had spent years cultivating influence through the foundation — and by paying her to speak during the two years between her departure from the Obama administration and the start of her campaign.

Clinton and her team insisted that efforts to avoid conflicts of interest were made at the State Department and that further steps would be taken if she was elected.

Other companies

Meanwhile, other firms have also transferred funds to Cohen's firm, according to Avenatti's summary. They include Novartis Investments SARL, a subsidiary of pharmaceutical maker Novartis AG, which made four payments totaling $399,920 in the same four-month span as AT&T.

A Novartis spokesman said that he was looking into the issue but added that any agreements with Essential were entered into before the arrival of the company's current CEO in February and have expired.

There also was a $150,000 payment in November 2017 from Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd., a manufacturer of aircraft, including jets, helicopters and unmanned vehicles, according to the summary.

Korea Aerospace, which is seeking to sell its planes in the United States, hired Cohen's entity for advice on local accounting standards and sent a single payment of $150,000 when the work was completed, a spokesman said Wednesday, adding that the contract was legal.

Novartis is a global pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation with headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. The company specializes in biotechnological drugs, vaccines, over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, animal health care products, contact lenses and lense care products. It is the world's 5th largest vaccine producer. It distributes in over 140 countries through approximately 100,000 associates. [1] Novartis and :{AstraZeneca:(style="background-color:#fff200"):}: spun-off and merged to become :{Syngenta:(style="background-color:#fff200"):}:, a Swiss global agribusiness company formed in 2000 from the agrochemical and seed divisions of Novartis, and the agrochemicals and biotechnology research divisions of AstraZeneca. Syngenta is the world’s second biggest player in agrochemicals and the third biggest seed producer.[2]

In the fiscal year ending in December of 2009, the company reported sales of approximately $45.1 billion dollars and had 99,834 employees. [3]

Overview

Novartis has six major product lines: pharmaceuticals; vaccines & diagnostics; Sandoz generic drugs, Over-the Counter (OTC) self medication; animal products and CIBA vision contact lenses and lens-care products. The company markets over 50 key pharmaceutical products. In 2008 Novartis launched 11 products in the U.S. and the European Union (EU). [5] Novartis' Vaccines and Diagnostics Division in vaccine development and blood-testing equipment. The company is the fifth largest vaccine manufacturer in the world and the second largest supplier of influenza vaccines in he U.S. [6]Novartis' four divisions are pharmaceuticals, vaccines and diagnostics; generics and consumer health. Its largest division is pharmaceuticals. Vaccine and Diagnostics manufactures vaccines and blood-screening tools. Its Sandoz generics subsidiary produces generic drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients. The consumer health unit includes the brand names Benefiber, Excedrin and Theraflu. It also includes contact lenses, eye care products, companion animal and agricultural animal products. See also Novartis products. [4]

Sandoz is the generic branch of Novartis pharmaceuticals. It manufactures low cost pharmaceuticals no longer protected by patents. Key products include drugs for central-nervous-system, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular disorders as well as antibiotics and hormone therapies. [7] The company's over the counter (OTC) division develops, manufactures and markets non-prescription self medication. [8] Novartis manufactures products for companion animals and "the health and productivity of farm animals." Products include treatments for disease and parasite infestations. [9] CIBA VISION specializes in contact lenses and lens-care production in over 70 countries. [10]

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council

In August 2011, Novartis representative Don Stetcher was given the American Legislative Exchange Council's (ALEC's) 2011 Private Sector Member of the Year Award.[11]

About ALEC
ALEC is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators their wishlists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC's operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills. Learn more at the Center for Media and Democracy's ALECexposed.org, and check out breaking news on our PRWatch.org site.

Animal testing

Demonstrations against Huntingdon Life Sciences clients Novartis & Merck. - Washington, DC January 2008

Novartis does animal testing.

Facility information, progress reports & USDA-APHIS reports

For links to copies of a facility's U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-Animal Plant Health Inspection (APHIS) reports, other information and links, see also Stop Animal Experimentation NOW!: Facility Reports and Information. This site contains listings for all 50 states, links to biomedical research facilities in that state and PDF copies of government documents where facilities must report their animal usage. (Search: Cambridge, Massachusetts; San Diego, California.)

This facility performed animal experiments involving pain or distress but no analgesics, anesthetics or pain relievers were administered. For copies of this facility's USDA-APHIS reports, other information and links, see also Facility Reports and Information: Novartis Animal Vaccines, Inc., Larchwood, IA. [12]

This facility performed animal experiments involving pain or distress but no analgesics, anesthetics or pain relievers were administered. For copies of this facility's USDA-APHIS reports, other information and links, see also Facility Reports and Information: Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, NJ[13]

USDA AWA reports

As of May 26, 2009, the USDA began posting all inspection reports for animal breeders, dealers, exhibitors, handlers, research facilities and animal carriers by state. See alsoUSDA Animal Welfare Inspection Reports.

Contract testing

Novartis contract tests out to Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS). [14] HLS is the 3rd largest contract research organization (CRO) in the world and the largest animal testing facility in all of Europe. Firms hire CROs to conduct animal toxicity tests for agrochemicals, petrochemicals, household products, pharmaceutical drugs and toxins. HLS has a long history of gross animal welfare violations. See also Huntingdon Life Sciences.

Novartis contract tests out to Covance Laboratories. [15] Covance has a long history of gross animal welfare violations. See also Covance Laboratories.

Animal cruelty & welfare violations

Dairies of Despair: banned report released in UK

In April 2003, the largest ever set of data concerning animal experiments in the United Kingdom was released following a defeat earlier in the month for a 30 month injunction by Novartis and its former British subsidiary, Imutran. The documents revealed primates being used in the search for solutions to the chronic global shortage of human transplant organs. Baboons were transported from the African savannahs to die in steel cages the size of toilet cubicles. According to the documents, a quarter of the primates died from "technical failures". Researchers describe monkeys and baboons dying in fits of vomiting and diarrhea. Other symptoms were violent spasms, bloody discharges, grinding teeth and uncontrollable, manic eye movements. Animals retreated within themselves, lying still in their cages until they were put of their misery. Baboon W201m died of a stroke after two days of suffering from limb spasms and paralysis. Baboon W205m was "sacrificed" after 21 days. A genetically modified pig's heart had been attached to the vital arteries within its neck. Researchers noted the heart was swelling way beyond its natural size with a strange yellow fluid seeping from the organ.

Other animals never even made it to the Novartis contract laboratory, Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), suffering painful deaths en route. Faxes from global wildlife dealers reveal at least 50 baboons being taken from the African plains for the experiments. In one shipment, the creatures spent 34 hours in cramped transport crates; 10 hours longer than approved by the Home Office (which did not take any action.) In another shipment, three monkeys were found dead with blood oozing from their nostrils at a Paris airport. They had not been able to turn and lie down naturally. The 1,274 pages of documentation revealed a "litany of failings", including at least 520 errors and omissions. [16]

Xenotransplantation

The 150 page Diaries of Despair report based on the documentation, provides the public with an unprecedented and extensive insight into the reality of vivisection in Britain. Never before has so much secret information about animal experiments entered the public domain. The report was effectively banned for almost two and a half years by an injunction by Imutran and Novartis in late September of 2000. The leaked documentation reveals horrific animal suffering, corrects misleading public presentation of research and exposes government deception. The five part report provides background information on xenotransplantation (transplanting organs of one species into another); an overview of the leaked documents and the rationale behind transgenic pigs as a potential source of xenografts. It describe the suffering of primates used in the research and the legal framework regulating animal testing. The report documents baboons and cynomolgus monkeys, from (in the case of the baboons) capture in the wild, through transportation half way across the world and their deaths in experiments conducted at HLS.[17]

See also Dairies of Despair: Further Reading. [18]

Organ transplants are transplants are prohibitively expensive and of limited value. However, selling transgenic pig parts and other organs is very profitable. Novartis and its subsidiaries have killed thousands of animals and spent millions of dollars attempting to develop animal organs for transplantation into humans. Xenotransplantation experiments have a long history of human and animal costs. They have proved to be one of the greatest medical disasters of all time, for both animals and recipients. Approximately 6,000 people are on waiting lists for human organs, an organ shortage which could largely be solved through default consent to organ donation after death. See also Humane Movement, section 5.

Imunopigs

In spite of 100 years of failed research, the quest to turn animals into spare parts warehouses continues and has done nothing to slow Novartis' search for an immunopig; (pigs genetically manipulated to carry human genes.) However, failed research has shown that animals transplanted with human genes do not have suitable spare parts for humans, any more than non-genetically altered animals do. Other species such as hamsters, rabbits and monkeys have also been subjected to failed horrific and pointless xenotransplantation. The surgeries are so monumentally unsuccessful that animals usually begin to die within minutes.

Organ failure, rejection & dangers to human health

The transplanted organs do not function or are rejected almost instantaneously. In one experiment, a pig's kidney was accidentally transplanted into the abdomen of a monkey. The victims are then overdosed with anesthetics and their spleens were removed. Monkeys and baboons who survive xenotransplanation die of organ rejection, organ failure and infections from drug toxicity and impaired immune systems. Novartis has subjected monkeys to lethal infections, lethal blood clotting, bleeding complications, viral and protozoal infections, lymph cancer, severe nausea, severe stomach inflammation and diarrhea, dehydration, fatal pneumonia, persistent wound infections, breakdowns, brain trauma, heart attacks, pneumonia and anemia. Primates are also given massive doses of immune-suppressing drugs which cause internal hemorrhaging. In one experiment, a swab was left in a monkey's abdomen which in turn caused a lethal infection. Such incidents occur on a regular basis.

Some animal viruses are impossible to eradicate and can infect humans. Current and historic examples mad cow disease, HIV, avian flu and the 1918 influenza epidemic. Scientists have expressed concern that recipients of pig organs may pass viruses into the general population. [19], [20]

Induced schizophrenia & epilepsy in rats & mice

In experiments in Basel, Switzerland, rats Rats between 4 and 8 days age are deprived of oxygen. Some are exposed to reduced oxygen content. Some of them are killed on the 11th day of oxygen deprivation and their brains cut out and examined. Others are exposed to noise and rattled in steel cages until they begin to show symptoms of schizophrenia. Finally, on their 120th day the rats are killed.

In experiments in Germany on rats supplied by the Basel laboratory, electrodes are implanted into the stomachs and brains of mice. Pilokarpin (a drug used to treat dry mouth associated with cancer radiotion treatment) is then injected to induce epilepsy. Some of the mice die due to the treatment and others are again killed and their brains examined. Surviving mice and subjected to a second injection of the drug Diazepam (Valium). They live up to 28 days with the implanted electrodes before they are killed. [21]

Drilling open the heads of cats

In Germany experiments, the heads of cats are drilled open and a glass plate is applied. Pictures are shown to the cat and the brain is filmed through the glass plate. The cats are killed after 30 to 45 minutes. Martin Rausch of Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland, participated in these experiments. [22], [23]

Drug safety issues

Novartis has been plagued by a number of recent drug safety issues, including the delay of its diabetes drug Galvus and "evaluating" the launch of a generic version of its Lotrel blood pressure treatment. Novartis withdrew the bowel drug Zelnorm from US shelves in March of 2007.

Prexige banned in Australia

In August of 2007, Australia banned Novartis' Prexige, after the deaths of two patients. According to Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), it received 8 reports of serious liver damage, including two deaths and two liver transplants linked to the COX-2 painkiller.

In spite of these developments, there were no plans to pull the drug elsewhere, according to a company spokes person. The company also planned to proceed with filing for marketing approval in the United States. COX-2s have been under a cloud since Merck withdrew Vioxx in 2004 after studies showed that it increased the risk for heart attacks. There have also been concerns over other non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs. Prexige had been viewed as a blockbuster seller for Novartis until the Vioxx withdrawal. [24]

Food safety issues

Syngenta inherits the dubious legacies of both parent companies, promoters of GMO (genetically modified organism) technology and manufacturers of hazardous chemicals (paraquat and atrazine11). In the late 1990s Novartis and AstraZeneca wanted to establish themselves as "lifesciences" companies in order to exploit potential synergies between their pharmaceutical, chemical and agricultural sectors. Both invested heavily in acquiring seed and biotechnology companies. The Syngenta spin-off was a result of the poor performance of both companies' agribusiness divisions in 1999 and at least partially due to the global backlash against GM crops.

The creation of Syngenta enabled the parent companies to make considerable savings and rid themselves of their controversial agricultural biotechnology ventures. Syngenta has so far managed to avoid the public vilification of Monsanto, while it quietly develops controversial agricultural biotechnology, including genetic use restriction technologies (GURTs)/traitor technology. [25]

Global GMOs & herbicide market

The top biotechnology companies are Monsanto, DuPont, Syngenta and Bayer. (Syngenta is a subsidiary of parent companies AstraZeneca and Novartis. Aventis' agribusiness division was bought out by Bayer.) They account for almost 100% of the genetically engineered seed and 60% of the global pesticide market. Thanks to recent acquisitions, they now own 23% of the commercial seed market. In 1999, almost 80% of total global transgenic acreage was planted in GMO soy, corn, cotton and canola. Until then, farmers could spray herbicides before planting, but not after, as herbicides would kill the intended crop. The other 20% of genetically modified acreage is planted with crops that produce pesticides. Monsanto’s "New Leaf" potato kills potato beetles, but is itself registered as a pesticide with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The five largest biotech companies in the world are also the five largest herbicide companies. GMOs ensure a continuous and ever-expanding market for their agrochemicals. [26]

Under current policy, the government provides large subsidies to farmers to produce grains, in particularly corn and soybeans. Livestock producers use corn and soy as a base for animal feed as they are protein rich and fatten up the animals. They are also cheap (due to government subsidies.) Livestock consumes 47% of the soy and 60% of the corn produced in the US. [27] See also FDA.

Human rights & environmental abuses

Activists demand Syngenta leave Brazil

In December of 2007, hundreds of activists broke into Novartis' subsidiary Syngenta's agrochemical plant in Sao Paulo, Brazil. According to a company spokesperson, 50 employees were expelled and production was shut down. Members of the Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (MST) and its allied group Via Campesina, destroyed genetically-modified corn and soy seedlings at a Syngenta farm in the northeastern state of Ceara. The groups accused Syngenta of attacking landless workers and violating environmental laws and demanded that Syngenta leave Brazil.

Activist shot and killed protesting GMO fields

In October of 2007, an activist was shot and killed during a protest at a Syngenta farm in the southern Parana state. According to the MST, the farm illegally produced genetically modified crops (GMO)'s within a protected enviromental zone close to the internationally acclaimed Iguacu water falls. The Paraná State Federal Justice decided that experiments with GMOs in the surroundings of the Iguaçú National Park are illegal. According to Judge Vanessa Hoffman, the park has a a 10 km buffer zone and the company was fined R$ 1 million by Brazilian environmental authorities.

Syngenta is the world's largest agrochemical company. According to a company statement, it was "dismayed by the occupations" but denied any participation in the October shooting death. According to activists, the company's private security force at the farm were responsible for the shooting death of Valmir Mota de Oliveira. The MST and other groups frequently occupy farms, block highways, torch crops and stage rallies to pressure the government to give land to the poor. In response, landowners hire armed guards and hit squads to repel invasions. Landless militants have also blocked railroads run by Brazilian mining companies, interupting the flow of iron ore to foreign markets.

Industry and agricultural lobbyists have urged the government to crack down on landless movements, as they "undermine investment conditions in Brazil." [28]

Acquisitions, mergers, spin-offs & sell offs

Personnel & board

Board of directors

Executive committee

Permanent attendees

Other Senior Management

Contact

Novartis International AG

Lichtstrasse 35

Basel

CH-40-56

Switzerland

Phone: +41-61-324-1111

[39]

Novartis Corporation

608 Fifth Ave.

New York, NY 10020

Phone: 212-307-1122

[40]

Web address: http://www.novartis.com/

Articles & sources

SourceWatch articles

References

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Novartis

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