Novartis has received approval from the European Commission to acquire the remaining shares of Chiron Corporation that it does not currently own. This follows approval by the US Federal Trade Commission in December 2005 and clearance by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US under Exon-Florio in January 2006.

According to a statement by the EC, the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European economic area or any substantial part of it.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission's review of Chiron's Proxy Statement is ongoing and is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2006. Following this review, a meeting of Chiron shareholders to vote on the merger will be scheduled, informs a Novartis release.

Chiron had approached Novartis about buying the shares to help overcome problems relating to its failure to deliver flu vaccine for the 2004-05 season because of contamination at its UK plant.