The merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz formed Novartis in the year 1996. And if one looks from a historical perspective, the antecedents of these two companies are not very comfortable. By the end of March 1972, around 20,000 people in Japan alone became victims of a drug known as Clioquinal (manufactured and sold by Ciba-Geigy under the name Entero-Vioform). This drug caused permanent blindness and paralysis, which in medical world is described by the acronym SMON, which stands for Subacute Myelo Optic Neuritis. Ciba-Geigy knew very well the side effects of this drug and still sold it all over the world, for huge profits, causing irreparable damage to the people.

This was not the only drug. As Butazones (manufactured and sold by this company under the trade name as Butazolidin and Tanderil), allegedly led to several deaths. Similarly, Entobex and Ambilhar all caused severe reactions.

Accusations
All this and much more is described in the book “Inside Ciba-Geigy” by Dr Olle Hansson (a publication of International Organisation of Consumer’s Union). In this book Dr Olle Hansson, a Swedish paediatric neurologist, who presented himself as expert witness in the Japan court in the SMON hearing, describes his fight against the Swiss giant Ciba-Geigy. He mentions “This book is an accusation against Ciba-Geigy, that they have caused, despite better knowledge, unnecessary suffering and death, in their greed for more profit, they have consciously endangered the lives and health of people. As a physician I have no other choice because the highest goal of physician is to prevent suffering.” He adds, “War is by far too serious a matter to be entrusted only to the military. The same applies to drug industry.”

Ciba-Geigy, and other prominent chemical firms, have had substantial ties with I.G. Farben, the giant industrial firm that contributed heavily to Hitler’s rise to power. I.G. Farben is known for its huge slave labour camps of World War II, and as a major manufacturer of toxic chemicals. Are the ties that bound Ciba-Geigy to I G Farben merely business ties, or do they go beyond, with I G Farben a characteristic example of the poison industry?
Given this background, it is no doubt that huge profit making drug companies would always be hungry for more and more wealth, even at the cost of innocent lives!

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