Novartis working on combination pill

Novartis has said it is working on several medicines and drugs to combine them into a single pill.

The announcement follows the company’s expected loss of revenue when the patent for its Diovan expires in four years.

The combination pill will see the company’s heart medicine Rasilez mixed with Diovan and it is hoped to be filed for US approval before the end of the year.

Additionally, Novartis will seek European Union approval for the drug in 2009 and hopes to get regulatory endorsement before losing the patent protection in September 2012.

Diovan generated sales of $4.3 billion (2.9 billion pounds) for the company in the first nine months of 2008.

In other news, Novartis has said the US Food and Drug Administration requested more data on experimental kidney cancer drug Afinitor.

Approval of the drug will be decided by the agency in early 2009, three months later than planned.

Earlier this month, the company announced Rasilez provides greater reduction in high blood pressure than the Ace inhibitor Ramipril, in patients aged 65 and older.

Formed in 1996 through the merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis increased research and development investments by more than 20 per cent to $6.4 billion in 2007.