Novartis to license Google "smart lens" technology - Seite 2

• Helping diabetic patients manage their disease by providing a continuous, minimally invasive measurement of the body's glucose levels via a "smart contact lens" which is designed to measure tear fluid in the eye and connects wirelessly with a mobile device;

• For people living with presbyopia who can no longer read without glasses, the "smart lens" has the potential to provide accommodative vision correction to help restore the eye's natural autofocus on near objects in the form of an accommodative contact lens or intraocular lens as part of the refractive cataract treatment.

The agreement marries Google's expertise in miniaturized electronics, low power chip design and microfabrication with Alcon's expertise in physiology and visual performance of the eye, clinical development and evaluation, as well as commercialization of contact and intraocular lenses. Through the collaboration, Alcon seeks to accelerate product innovation based on Google's "smart lens" technology.

"Alcon and Google have a deep and common passion for innovation," said Jeff George, Division Head of Alcon. "By combining Alcon's leadership in eye care and expertise in contact lenses and intraocular lenses with Google's innovative "smart lens" technology and groundbreaking speed in research, we aim to unlock a new frontier to jointly address the unmet medical needs of millions of eye care patients around the world."

Disclaimer
The foregoing release contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by words such as "potential," "opportunity," "pipeline," "subject to anti-trust approvals," "aims," "looking forward to," "will," "seeks," "could," or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding the potential future development of products based on the Google "smart lens" technology, potential additional collaborations between Google and Novartis Group companies, or regarding potential future revenues from such projects. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of management regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that products based on the Google "smart lens" technology or any other products based on collaborations between Google and Novartis Group companies will be successfully developed, or approved for sale in any market, or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that any such products will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, management's expectations regarding such products could be affected by, among other things, unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally, including an unexpected failure to obtain necessary government approvals for the collaboration, or unexpected delays in obtaining such approvals; the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including unexpected research failures or delays, unexpected collaboration issues, and unexpected clinical trial results; the company's ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; general economic and industry conditions; global trends toward health care cost containment, including ongoing pricing pressures; unexpected manufacturing issues, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.