1st Meeting of the Newly Appointed Supervisory Board

28. 3. 2003

On Thursday, 27 March 2003, the newly appointed Supervisory Board of Lek Pharmaceuticals d.d. held its first meeting. The composition of the Supervisory Board reflects the changes in the ownership structure of the company after the completed takeover in November 2002 by Novartis.

The Supervisory Board elected its new Chairman. This role was assigned to Christian Seiwald, MSc, Head of the Generics Business Unit. The Supervisory Board consists of five representatives of Novartis, representing both the Generics BU and the corporate headquarters of Novartis. Other members of the Supervisory Board are Peter Kraljič, PhD, a distinguished Slovenian consultant, and three representatives of Lek employees, as provided by the Slovenian legislation on employee participation in company management.

At its 1st meeting, the Supervisory Board familiarized itself with the report on the business performance of the joint-stock company Lek in the year 2002, with the annual report by the Board of Management, and with the Auditor’s opinion. The Supervisory Board adopted the report on the company’s business performance and approved the proposal for the employment of the distributable net profit to be submitted to the General Meeting of the joint-stock company for adoption. Further on, the Supervisory Board familiarized itself with the business objectives for the year 2003 and with the business development in the beginning of the year. It gave the Board of Management, the management team and all Lek employees recognition for the successful operations and the results achieved in 2002.

The Supervisory Board also discussed the status report on the progress of Lek’s integration into the Novartis Group. The integration process is unfolding successfully, providing the expected quick wins, while appropriate decisions enabling the realization of synergies have already been made. It is expected to achieve at least SFr 50 million worth integration synergies, based on an increased sales volume, cost optimization and the strategic projects’ implementation to support further business growth and expansion.

As Christian Seiwald, the newly appointed Supervisory Board Chairman pointed out: “Lek aims to become a valuable member of the Novartis Group, while consolidating its role as one of Slovenia’s flagship companies”.