Sandoz AG

Swiss company

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 13, 2026

Quick Summary

Sandoz AG was a Swiss company founded in 1886 by Alfred Kern and Edouard Sandoz, initially focusing on synthetic dyes. By 1895, it began manufacturing pharmaceuticals. In the 1920s and 1930s, Sandoz expanded into household products. The company gained notoriety in the 1960s for the hallucinogen LSD, which it had invented. In 1996, Sandoz merged with Ciba-Geigy AG to form Novartis AG, a major global pharmaceutical company.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Albert Hofmann
Early years
Afterward he was hired by Sandoz Laboratories in Basel, where he was assigned to a program developing methods for synthesizing compounds found in medicinal plants. It was there, while testing the analeptic (stimulant) properties of ergot derivatives, that Hofmann stumbled upon LSD-25 (the 25th such derivative tested) in 1938.
Read More
Afterward he was hired by Sandoz Laboratories in Basel, where he was assigned to a program developing methods for synthesizing compounds found in medicinal plants. It was there, while testing the analeptic (stimulant) properties of ergot derivatives, that Hofmann stumbled upon LSD-25 (the 25th such derivative tested) in 1938.
Read More

Novartis AG
…drug companies, Ciba-Geigy AG and Sandoz AG. Novartis is headquartered in Basel.
Read More
…drug companies, Ciba-Geigy AG and Sandoz AG. Novartis is headquartered in Basel.
Read More

Daniel Vasella
…joined the marketing department of Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corp. in New Jersey, the U.S.-based division of Sandoz Pharma Ltd. The following year Vasella graduated from Harvard Business School, and he moved up quickly in the marketing and sales department at Sandoz to become department head of special-product marketing. He was appointed…
Read More
…joined the marketing department of Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corp. in New Jersey, the U.S.-based division of Sandoz Pharma Ltd. The following year Vasella graduated from Harvard Business School, and he moved up quickly in the marketing and sales department at Sandoz to become department head of special-product marketing. He was appointed…
Read More