The company's purpose is to conduct research, development, marketing and distribution of pharmaceutical products in the field of nephrology worldwide. The company may establish branches and subsidiaries in Switzerland and abroad and participate in other companies in Switzerland and abroad. The company may acquire, hold, manage, utilize and sell real estate in Switzerland and abroad. The company may engage in all commercial, financial and other activities that appear to promote the purpose of the company or are related to it. The company may provide direct or indirect financing to other companies in the group, grant security of all kinds for its own liabilities and those of other companies in the group, including by way of pledges or fiduciary transfers or assignments of the company's assets, or provide guarantees, enter into suretyships or otherwise secure or guarantee the obligations of these other group companies, whether for consideration or not, and even if such financing or security transactions are in the exclusive interest of another company. Furthermore, it may operate a liquidity balancing / concentration of net liquidity (cash pooling) with the aforementioned companies or join such a system, including periodic account balancing. This also applies under preferential conditions without interest, excluding the company's profit motive and assuming cluster risks.