Novartis traces its roots to three companies: Geigy, Ciba and Sondaz. All three companies were founded in Switzerland and shared "a passion for developing and marketing new products that contribute to human progress through advances in science and health." Ciba and Geigy merged in 1970 before then merging with Sondaz in 1996, officially forming Novartis. Today, the company offers a diverse portfolio to produce innovative medicines and cost-saving generic and biosimilar pharmaceuticals and eye care.
An affiliate of Novartis, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, is located in East Hanover, NJ. The company has grating leading into the main entrance of the office building for increased safety in slippery conditions. However, the spaces in the grating were large enough that shoes with narrow heels were getting caught. It an attempt to stop this, Novartis placed mats over the grating directly in front of the doors. However, wet and cold conditions led to the mats freezing and becoming a slipping hazard. Novartis moved onto electric heating mats, which solved the problem for a time. However, frequent issues with the mats shorting out made it impossible for them to be a long-term solution.