Novartis reports positive Diovan findings

Novartis has announced the publication of results from the Jikei Heart Study in the Lancet showing the efficacy of Diovan (valsartan) as an adjunctive therapy for the prevention of cardiovascular events and stroke.

Patients administered with Diovan exhibited a 39 per cent reduction in cardiovascular events and a 40 per cent reduction in stroke, in addition to a 65 per cent reduction in anginea pectoris, 46 per cent drop in heart failure and 81 per cent fall in aortic dissection.

Investigators involved in the trial, the first to examine the potential cardiovascular benefits of adding the angiotensin receptor blocker to standard therapy, claim these benefits can not be explained solely by the lowering of blood pressure.

Gordon McInnes, professor of medicine at the Western Infirmary in Glasgow, said: “The results of this trial carry an important clinical message for physicians across the globe who are trying to protect patients from debilitating complications such as stroke.”

He added that the recent study indicates that significant long-term protection can be afforded by adding Diovan to standard treatment regimens.

In January 2007, Novartis announced that its single-pill treatment for blood pressure, Exforge – a combination of Diovan and Norvasc (amlodipine besylate) – had been granted approval by the European Commission.