Novartis hosts international research seminar

Novartis is hosting an international seminar designed to allow students from a number of nations to interact with industry experts.

The 2010 Novartis International Biotechnology Leadership Camp is being held at the company's base in Basel, Switzerland and brings 60 students from leading universities in 24 countries together with biotechnology and business experts.

This allows them to participate in workshops and receive advice on new drug development, trends and challenges in the industry and the processes behind running biotechnology firms.

It is hoped that this conference, now in its seventh year, will play a key role in exposing talented individuals to the knowledge required to fuel pharmaceutical innovation in future.

Joseph Jimenez, chief executive officer of Novartis, said: "It's exciting to see BioCamp participants inspire and challenge each other during the programme, generating new ideas around scientific innovation and improving patient outcomes."

Last week, Novartis expanded the reach of its business by agreeing a deal to become the majority shareholder in fellow pharmaceutical company Alcon.