In his remarks as chief guest through virtual presence, Health Minister Sardar Sakhawat Husain highly praised Nevian’s success in exporting medicines to Canada.
He stated, “The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most important sectors for diversifying Bangladesh’s export basket. Nevian’s initiative, in partnership with Switzerland-based Sandoz, can serve as a role model for achieving rapid growth in this sector.”
It is noteworthy that Switzerland’s Ciba-Geigy, with more than 200 years of global heritage in pharmaceutical excellence, began operations in Bangladesh in 1973.
Following its merger with another Swiss company, Sandoz, the company re-emerged as Novartis in 1996.
Operated as a joint venture with the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC), the majority shares of the company were acquired in 2025 by Radiant Pharmaceuticals Limited, one of Bangladesh’s leading pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Following the acquisition, Novartis (Bangladesh) Limited was renamed Nevian Lifescience PLC.
Earlier, during its transition in 2025, Nevian announced that despite the name change of the entity, it would continue producing, marketing, and exporting Novartis medicines under the same brand names, same formulations, and same quality standards as a licensee of the Switzerland-based multinational company.
With the commencement of medicine exports to Canada from Nevian’s European Union GMP-certified factory in Tongi, the company has achieved the first major milestone of its new journey.