The Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) encompass the main research activities of Novartis. However, our company also does  research through another entity: Novartis Corporate Research, headed by Prof. Paul Herrling.

The mission of Corporate Research is to leverage the specific scientific expertise of its three member institutes to address unmet medical needs, with a particular focus on the developing world and neglected diseases.

Corporate Research at Novartis comprises three institutes with a total staff of more than 750 scientists. The institutes are: The Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF) based in La Jolla, California; The Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases (NITD) in Singapore; and  The Friedrich Miescher (FMI) in Basel, Switzerland.

GNF, formed in 1999, has a staff of 400 scientists who focus on development of advanced technologies in fields ranging from cellular genomics and proteomics, to combinatorial chemistry and structural biology. The Institute has also begun putting those new technologies to work in its own drug discovery programs – where its scientists increasingly work in collaboration with counterparts at NIBR.

The Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases in Singapore works to advance medical research in the area of progressive infectious and parasitic diseases that affect so many people in the developing world. Novartis views this as a long term endeavor to enhance the discovery of preventative and effective treatments for diseases like tuberculosis (TB) and dengue, and ultimately reduce the overall affliction of tropical diseases and improve the prosperity of developing countries.

The Friedrich Miescher Institute, named after the discoverer of the nucleic acids, was founded in Basel in 1970 jointly by Ciba AG and Geigy AG, shortly before the two companies fused to form Ciba-Geigy AG. The main areas of scientific focus at FMI range from epigenetics and growth control, to neurobiology. Fundamental biomedical research conducted at FMI has generated a number of potentially interesting drug targets. One particular strength is the area of kinases – where work by FMI scientists has led to candidate compounds in both cancer and infectious diseases. FMI also trains young scientists and has been a prime recruiting ground for Novartis – more than 50 scientists have moved from the Institute to the company’s labs.