September 25, 2008
Novartis starts ''squeeze out'' procedure for remaining Speedel shares
September 19, 2008
Novartis MF59®-adjuvanted vaccine rapidly induces protective antibody levels against diverse strains of avian flu
September 16, 2008
Latest RAD001 study results show further increase in time without tumor growth in patients with advanced kidney cancer
- New data, updated since ASCO, show time without tumor growth now reaches nearly 5 months with RAD001 versus 1.9 months with placebo
- One quarter of patients in trial remained progression-free beyond ten months of treatment
- RAD001 is first drug to show significant benefit after failure of initial therapy, Sutent® or Nexavar®**, with potential to address unmet medical need
- RAD001 (proposed brand name Afinitor®) under review by regulatory authorities; potential to be first once-daily oral mTOR therapy for advanced kidney cancer
September 15, 2008
Novartis receives FDA priority review for Coartem®, potentially the first artemisinin-based combination treatment (ACT) for malaria in the US
- Coartem achieves high cure rates in studies[1],[2] and since 2001 has helped save an estimated 500,000 lives
- Priority review by FDA underscores urgency of stopping malaria - a key goal of US President's Malaria Initiative
- Working with international community, Novartis has supplied more than 195 million treatments to malaria-endemic countries without profit
September 13, 2008
RAD001 combined with Sandostatin® LAR® and as monotherapy controls growth of rare pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors
- 82% of patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NET) experienced clinical benefit when treated with daily RAD001 and monthly Sandostatin LAR
- 77% of patients with pancreatic NET experienced clinical benefit when treated with daily RAD001
- Data show RAD001, an oral mTOR inhibitor, has potential to become new treatment for patients with pancreatic NET who currently have limited options
- Phase III trials underway to confirm impact of combination RAD001 and Sandostatin LAR therapy on survival in pancreatic NET and carcinoid patients
September 10, 2008
New Phase II data show Novartis investigational Meningitis B vaccine may also protect infants six months and older
- Novel vaccine produced protective immune response against broad range of representative meningococcal B strains in more than 95% of infants tested[1]
- Novartis MenB vaccine could fill major unmet need for broadly protective vaccine for children and infants two months and older
- Meningococcal B strains cause 72% of meningococcal disease in Europe and 28% in the US; infants and toddlers are the age group most at risk[2], [3]
September 09, 2008
Data show Galvus® better tolerated by patients with type 2 diabetes, with no weight gain, a favorable cardiovascular profile and equal efficacy compared to widely-used TZDs
- GALIANT[*] study in more than 2,400 patients shows Galvus as effective as commonly prescribed TZD drugs when added to metformin[1]
- New pooled data show Galvus is associated with lower overall incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes, than placebo[2] and confirm good tolerability in patients with mild-to-moderate renal impairment[3]
- Patients tolerated Galvus better than TZDs and did not gain weight - a common side effect of other type 2 diabetes medicines[1]
- Galvus demonstrates strong efficacy in broad patient population with over 14,000 patients treated in clinical program to date
September 09, 2008
RAD001 granted priority review in the US based on potential to fill unmet medical need in patients with advanced kidney cancer
- Regulatory applications to be submitted worldwide for RAD001, proposed brand name Afinitor®; first submissions filed in the US, EU and Switzerland
- Data showing that RAD001 more than doubles time without tumor growth and reduced risk of disease progression by 70% now published in The Lancet
- RAD001 shows promise to become first once-daily oral therapy targeting mTOR to treat advanced kidney cancer
September 03, 2008
Rasilez® , first-in-class direct renin inhibitor, lowers high blood pressure more effectively than diuretic in obese patients
- Data presented at European Society of Cardiology congress confirm Rasilez is effective in difficult-to-treat patients with obesity, heart failure and diabetes[1],[2],[3]
- Data from ALOFT study shows Rasilez reduces marker of heart failure severity when added to optimal therapy in chronic heart failure patients with diabetes[2]
- Findings important as 70% of patients with high blood pressure are overweight or obese[4] and 23 million people worldwide have chronic heart failure[5]
- Heart and kidney protection potential of Rasilez independent of blood pressure lowering ability being further studied in ASPIRE HIGHER clinical program
September 03, 2008
Sandoz receives FDA approval for Omnitrope® Pen 10 with liquid cartridge
- New 10mg strength offers increased treatment flexibility and more convenient dosage form
- Comparable quality, safety and efficacy combined with significant cost savings
- Approval further demonstrates Sandoz leadership in high quality follow-on biologics
