NOVARTIS N : Significant blood pressure reductions seen in difficult-to-treat, black patients receiving Exforge®-based therapy[1]

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  * Study sub-group with severe high blood pressure shows largest
    blood pressure drop to date in an Exforge clinical trial[2,3,4]
  * After only two weeks, Exforge delivered significantly greater
    reductions in blood pressure than amlodipine alone[1]
  * 20 mmHg decrease in systolic blood pressure halves risk of death
    from heart disease or stroke[5]



  * Study sub-group with severe high blood pressure shows largest
    blood pressure drop to date in an Exforge clinical trial[2,3,4]
  * After only two weeks, Exforge delivered significantly greater
    reductions in blood pressure than amlodipine alone[1]
  * 20 mmHg decrease in systolic blood pressure halves risk of death
    from heart disease or stroke[5]

Basel, May 14, 2008 - New multinational data show that black patients
treated with Exforge® experienced a significantly higher reduction in
systolic blood pressure than those  on amlodipine alone (33 mmHg  vs.
27 mmHg, P<0.0001)[1].

In addition,  a subgroup  of black  patients with  severe high  blood
pressure achieved an average systolic blood pressure reduction of  50
mmHg[1]  when  taking   Exforge  and,  in   some  cases,   additional
hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) at the discretion of the investigator. This
is the  most significant  blood  pressure drop  seen  to date  in  an
Exforge clinical trial[2,3,4].

Exforge, a combination  of the  world's leading  high blood  pressure
medicines Diovan® (valsartan) and amlodipine, produced a  significant
decrease  in  blood  pressure  after  only  two  weeks  compared   to
amlodipine alone (25 mmHg vs. 19 mmHg, P<0.0001)[1].

Uncontrolled blood pressure in  difficult-to-treat patients can  lead
to an  increased risk  of heart  attack and  stroke[6]. Studies  have
shown that lowering systolic blood pressure by 20 mmHg can halve  the
risk of heart attack and stroke[5].

"The  large  blood  pressure  reductions  seen  in  this  trial  were
experienced by severe patients who  have the most difficulty  getting
their blood pressure to healthy levels," said Dr. John M. Flack,  the
lead investigator  from Wayne  State University  School of  Medicine,
Detroit. "These data may have a  real impact on helping patients  who
are most at risk."

The results, presented today at the American Society of  Hypertension
(ASH) 23rd Annual Scientific Meeting  and Exposition in New  Orleans,
show that Exforge got patients in a difficult-to-treat group -  black
patients with systolic blood pressure  >=160 mmHg - to healthy  blood
pressure levels[1].

Black patients are at higher  risk of developing high blood  pressure
than  other   ethnic  groups   for  reasons   that  are   not   fully
understood[7]. They  are  also less  likely  than white  patients  to
achieve  blood   pressure  control   while  receiving   treatment[7].
Guidelines recommend  that  combination  therapy should  be  used  as
first-line  treatment  in  difficult-to-treat  patient   groups[6,8].
Exforge is not currently approved as a first-line treatment for  high
blood pressure.

High blood  pressure  is a  leading  risk factor  for  cardiovascular
disease - the world's number one cause of death[9]. The condition  is
treatable, yet 70%  of people  with high  blood pressure  are not  at
goal[10].

"With Exforge,  we  have a  treatment  that can  help  many  patients
achieve healthy blood pressure levels," said Trevor Mundel, MD,  Head
of Global Development Functions at Novartis Pharma AG.  "Importantly,
Exforge has been  shown to  be effective  across all  grades of  high
blood pressure and to get as many as nine out of 10 patients to goal.
In this study,  Exforge demonstrated strong  blood pressure  lowering
efficacy in high-risk,  more difficult-to-treat patient  populations.
Exforge provides  an important  and  effective treatment  option  for
physicians."

The study presented at  ASH investigated whether combination  therapy
with Exforge  is an  effective  choice in  difficult-to-treat,  black
patients with stage 2  high blood pressure -  a more severe stage  of
the  disease,   with  systolic   blood  pressure   between  160   and
200 mmHg[1].  Systolic  blood  pressure,  measured  when  the   heart
contracts and pumps, is  the most important  indicator of a  person's
risk of cardiovascular events[6].

The  12-week  randomized,  double-blind,  parallel-group  study   was
carried out among black patients in  the US, South America and  South
Africa. A  total of  572 black  patients were  randomized to  receive
either Exforge 5-10/160 mg (n=286) or amlodipine 5-10 mg and  placebo
(n=286).  Demographic  and  baseline  clinical  characteristics  were
comparable between groups[1].

The primary endpoint of  the study was the  change in systolic  blood
pressure after eight weeks. Results showed that on average,  patients
treated with Exforge experienced a significantly greater reduction in
systolic blood pressure than those  on amlodipine alone (33 mmHg  vs.
27 mmHg,  P<0.0001)[1].  After eight  weeks,  those patients  with  a
systolic blood pressure >=130 mmHg could have open-label HCT added at
the investigator's discretion (Exforge n=146, amlodipine n=183)[11].

At study end, the sub-group of patients with systolic blood  pressure
>=180 mmHg at baseline taking Exforge,  and in some cases HCT at  the
discretion of the  investigator, achieved an  average systolic  blood
pressure reduction of 50 mmHg (n=35), compared to an average 41  mmHg
reduction in  those  taking amlodipine  with  additional HCT  at  the
discretion of the investigator  (n=40, P=0.047)[1]. Both  medications
were well tolerated  with adverse  events being  mild, transient  and
consistent with the class of agents studied[1].

Novartis is  focused  on  improving  the lives  of  the  hundreds  of
millions of people with cardiovascular  and metabolic diseases. As  a
global leader in  cardiovascular and metabolic  health for nearly  50
years, Novartis provides innovative therapies and support programs to
treat high blood  pressure and  diabetes - both  major public  health
issues.

The core of the Novartis portfolio is its cardiovascular  medications
for the treatment of high blood pressure and diabetes. These  include
the world's most-prescribed angiotensin  receptor blocker, the  first
and only approved direct renin inhibitor, a single pill combining two
leading high blood pressure medicines,  and a novel DPP-4  inhibitor.
Novartis is  dedicated to  helping  physicians and  patients  improve
cardiovascular and  metabolic  health  through  effective  medicines,
programs and an ongoing commitment to research.

Disclaimer
The foregoing release contains forward-looking statements that can be
identified by terminology such as "risk", "can", "may", "likely",
"should", or similar expressions, or by express or implied
discussions regarding potential new indications or labelling for
Exforge or regarding potential future revenues from Exforge. Such
forward-looking statements reflect the current views of the Company
regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results with
Exforge to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements.
There can be no guarantee that Exforge will be approved for any
additional indications or labelling in any market. Nor can there be
any guarantee that Exforge will achieve any particular levels of
revenue in the future. In particular, management's expectations
regarding Exforge could be affected by, among other things,
unexpected clinical trial results, including unexpected new clinical
data and unexpected additional analysis of existing clinical data;
competition in general; unexpected regulatory actions or delays or
government regulation generally; the company's ability to obtain or
maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property
protection; government, industry and general public pricing
pressures, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's
current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange
Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties
materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual
results may vary materially from those anticipated, believed,
estimated or expected. 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.

About Novartis
Novartis AG provides healthcare  solutions that address the  evolving
needs of patients and  societies. Focused solely  on growth areas  in
healthcare, Novartis  offers a  diversified  portfolio to  best  meet
these    needs:    innovative    medicines,    cost-saving    generic
pharmaceuticals,  preventive  vaccines  and  diagnostic  tools,   and
consumer health products. Novartis is  the only company with  leading
positions in these areas. In 2007, the Group's continuing  operations
(excluding divestments  in  2007)  achieved net  sales  of  USD  38.1
billion and  net income  of USD  6.5 billion.  Approximately USD  6.4
billion  was  invested  in  R&D  activities  throughout  the   Group.
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis Group companies  employ
approximately 98,000  full-time associates  and operate  in over  140
countries around  the  world.  For  more  information,  please  visit
http://www.novartis.com.

References
[1] Flack  J  et  al. Efficacy  and  Safety  of  Amlodipine/Valsartan
Combination Therapy  Compared with  Amlodipine Monotherapy  in  Black
Patients with Stage 2 Hypertension. ASH, 2008.
[2] Poldermans D  et  al. Tolerability  and  Blood  Pressure-Lowering
Efficacy of  the Combination  of Amlodipine  Plus Valsartan  Compared
with Lisinopril Plus Hydrochlorothiazide in Adult Patients with Stage
2 Hypertension. Clinical Therapeutics. 2007;29:1-11.
[3] Philipp  T   et   al.  Two   Multicenter,   8-Week,   Randomized,
Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled,  Parallel-Group Studies  Evaluating
the  Efficacy  and  Tolerability  of  Amlodipine  and  Valsartan   in
Combination and  as  Monotherapy  in  Adult  Patients  with  Mild  to
Moderate    Essential     Hypertension.    Clinical     Therapeutics.
2007;29:563-580.
[4] Smith  TR  et  al.  Amlodipine  and  Valsartan  Combined  and  as
Monotherapy in  Stage 2,  Elderly, and  Black Hypertensive  Patients:
Subgroup  Analyses  of  2  Randomized,  Placebo-Controlled   Studies.
Journal of Clinical Hypertension. 2007;9:355-364.
[5] Lewington et al. Age-specific  relevance of usual blood  pressure
to vascular mortality:  a meta  analysis on individual  data for  one
million adults in 61 prospective studies. The Lancet. 2001;360:1903.
[6] Chobanian  AV  et  al.  Seventh  report  of  the  Joint  National
Committee on prevention, detection, evaluation and treatment of  high
blood pressure. Hypertension. 2003;42:1206-1251
[7] Hertz et  al.  Racial  Disparities  in  Hypertension  Prevalence,
Awareness, and Management. Arch Intern Med. 2005;165:2098-2104.
[8] The Task Force for the Management of Arterial Hypertension of the
European Society of Hypertension (ESH) and of the European Society of
Cardiology (ESC).  2007 Guidelines  for  the Management  of  Arterial
Hypertension. Eur Heart J. 2007;28:1462-1536.
[9] Kearney  et  al.  Global  burden  of  hypertension:  analysis  of
worldwide data. The Lancet. 2005;365:217-23
[10] Ong et  al. Prevalence,  Awareness,  Treatment, and  Control  of
Hypertension Among  United  States  Adults  1999-2004.  Hypertension.
2007;49:69-75.
[11] Flack J  et  al. Combination  of  Angiotensin-receptor  blocker,
Calcium-channel blocker and  Diuretic is  Safe and  Effective in  the
Management of Severe Hypertension in Blacks. ASH, 2008.

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