Tekturna(R) - The First New Type of High Blood Pressure Medicine In More Than a Decade - Receives Its First Approval in the US.

- Tekturna, the first approved direct renin inhibitor, acts on one of the body's key regulators of blood pressure by targeting renin

- Tekturna provides significant blood pressure reduction for a full 24 hours and is generally well tolerated

- Important additional blood pressure lowering observed when Tekturna added to other high blood pressure medicines

- High blood pressure is a leading contributor to cardiovascular disease, the world's No. 1 killer

EAST HANOVER, N.J., March 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Novartis announced today that the United States has become the first country in the world to approve Tekturna(R) (aliskiren) tablets, the first new type of medicine in more than a decade for treating high blood pressure -- a condition estimated to affect nearly one billion people worldwide and remains uncontrolled in nearly 70% of patients.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued the approval for Tekturna as the first in a new class of drugs called direct renin inhibitors. A once-daily oral therapy, Tekturna acts by targeting renin -- an enzyme responsible for triggering a process that can contribute to high blood pressure. This…