At Ciba-Geigy decisions were made by an executive committee that often produced tepid compromises.
The American authorities similarly imposed tough conditions on the merger of two Swiss drug firms, Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz.
Sandoz and Ciba-Geigy were plodding, risk-averse and assiduously Swiss companies that often got trounced by faster, fiercer U.S. rivals.
Isis landed its first deal in 1990, with Ciba-Geigy (now part of Novartis), to develop a lung cancer drug.
The world's chemicals industry is consolidating into a few huge players: witness the merger announced between Clariant and Ciba Specialty Chemicals.
Scientists at Sandoz and Ciba had produced plenty of good ideas, but the companies had faltered in getting them to the market.
"You had to fund it yourself, " says Ciba Specialty chairman Rolf Meyer.
Huntsman Textile Effects is a new business acquired from Ciba last August.
Basel is also home to a booming chemical and pharmaceutical industry, home to the headquarters of Novartis, Roche, Ciba and Syngenta, among others.
Vasella found a couple of other hot prospects in Ciba-Geigy's labs.
Despite the turmoil, the Novartis board chose to offer Vasella, who oversaw the merger between Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz that created Novartis, an eye-popping amount of money.
FORBES: The Novartis Board Insulted Shareholders With Hush Money For Dan Vasella
The Visudyne dye, which is manufactured by drug company CIBA UK, was approved by the European Medicines Evaluation Agency four weeks ago after being tested in two 12-month clinical trials.
Novartis' consumer health unit includes over-the-counter medications such as Benefiber, Excedrin and Theraflu, along with CIBA Vision's contact lenses and eye care products and Animal Health's companion and agricultural animal care products.
The planned merger of Clariant and Ciba Specialty Chemicals , which would have formed the world's biggest specialty chemicals group, was called off after the two firms decided that its risks outweighed the benefits.
To litigate against Ciba Vision, Rembrandt acquired a patent from husband and wife inventors Sing-Hsiung and Mei-Zyh Chang, in return for granting the Changs a net of 50% of the proceeds Rembrandt generates from the patent.
The treatment described by U.S. Patent No. 5, 712, 327 makes it possible to wear contact lenses for long periods of time, and the jury found it had been used in Ciba Vision's Focus Night and Day and O2OPtix products.
One of the most successful mergers in pharmaceuticals, between Sandoz and Ciba Geigy to form Novartis, was between two firms whose closeness of approach was the greater for being based in the same Swiss town (and doubtless run by chaps who had done national service together).
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