Lek Supervisory board approves Janja Bratoš as Lek CEO

22. 3. 2005

Ljubljana, March 22 – Supervisory board of Lek, a new Sandoz company, approved today the appointment of Janja Bratoš as CEO of the company. With this Sandoz shows its appreciation of Lek management and employees for successful integration.

Janja Bratoš will assume her responsibility for the management and coordination of Lek and all Sandoz operations in Slovenia on April 1, 2005. Janja will play pivotal role in aligning organizational change and integrating Lek key functions into the global infrastructure of Sandoz.

In her 30-year career in Lek, Janja Bratoš has had a distinguished record of business successes. She has gained considerable experience in development and intellectual property. She was leading the Marketing and Sales through a complex and very successful globalization effort building a strong network of affiliated companies and representative offices. Janja attracted and developed a team, who achieved excellent results through building an integrated and motivated worldwide organization.

“I am excited to be given the opportunity to lead the company which will support Sandoz ambitious goals in global generics industry. This proposal shows the acknowledgement of Sandoz management for the knowledge, expertise and result driven orientation of Lek team. In this way the continuity of the management will be achieved,” said Janja Bratoš.

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Lek, a new Sandoz company, is an international pharmaceutical company which operates as a business center on the markets of Central and Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe and the CIS region, and also markets its products successfully on the US market, in the EU and elsewhere around the world. Lek creates value through the development, manufacturing and sales of pharmaceutical products, active pharmaceutical ingredients and biopharmaceutical products. Lek employs about 4,186 people in various regions and achieved total sales of USD 746.5 million in 2004. For further information please consult http://www.lek.si

Sandoz, a Novartis company, is a leading global supplier of high-quality generic pharmaceuticals. Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, Sandoz is a Retail Generics company operating also two Business Units with specific strategic focus – Industrial Products and Biopharmaceuticals. In 2004, Sandoz achieved sales of USD 3.045 billion, employs about 13,400 people and operate in over 120 countries around the world.

Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS) is a world leader in pharmaceuticals and consumer health. In 2004, the Group’s business achieved sales of USD 28.2 billion and a net income of USD 5.8 billion. The Group invested approximately USD 4.2 billion in R&D. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis Group companies employ about 81,400 people and operate in over 140 countries around the world. For further information, please consult http://www.novartis.com

This press release contains statements and conclusions based on projections of Lek’s future business operations. These estimates are derived from the best information currently available. In case these forecasts prove unreliable, the actual results could prove different from those projected.

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    For further information contact:
    Katarina Klemenc Dinjaški
    Corporate Communications Lek
    Pharmaceuticals d.d.

    Phone: + 386 1 580 22 43
    Fax: + 386 1 580 24 32
    communications.lek@sandoz.com