Novartis AG

Novartis AG is a global pharmaceutical company whose core business model involves extensive animal testing for drug development and regulatory approval. The company’s research and development pipeline, spanning pharmaceuticals, generics, and biosimilars, relies on preclinical animal studies as a standard practice. This places animal testing as a central, ongoing component of its operations.

The company has been a significant target of animal rights campaigns due to this activity. In the mid-2000s, Novartis was named by the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) campaign as a customer of Huntingdon Life Sciences, a contract research organization known for animal testing. By 2009, the Animal Rights Militia claimed actions against the company, including a reported grave theft. In response to sustained protests, Novartis sought and obtained a 2014 UK High Court injunction to restrict animal rights demonstrations at its UK facilities and against its employees, citing threats and intimidation. While the injunction addressed protest tactics, it did not alter the underlying animal testing practices that prompted the campaigns.