Novartis vs Evonik vs Patheon
There are several football teams in Europe sponsored by pharma firms, the largest being FC Basel which has shirts emblazoned with the logo of locally headquartered multinational Novartis.
FC Basel won the Swiss League last year and currently Novartis’ name is being paraded in the UEFA Champions League.
Similarly in the German league, outsourcing company Evonik is the main sponsor of Borussia Dortmund, though they have won the domestic league eight times.
Meanwhile in a different league – the Swindon Sunday League to be precise – is Patheon FC which until 2012 consisted of members of the workforce of CDMO Patheon in Swindon, UK. During the 2011-12 season they did manage to hammer Roughmore Rangers nine goals to one but unfortunately the team no longer exist. Perhaps they will come back as DPx United following the merger of Patheon with DSM earlier this year.