Novartis Brings Diabetes Drug To China

Thu, 19 Jan 2012

Novartis, the Swiss-based multinational pharmaceutical firm, has launched its oral diabetes treatment Galvus (also known as vildagliptin) in China, the adult diabetes capital of the world.

Galvus is an oral medication for patients with type 2 diabetes, and is taken as either a monotherapy or in combination with metformin, a sulphonylurea, a thiazolidinedione or insulin . The drug will now be available in one of the world's fastest-growing diabetes markets.

Novartis has also been boosted by the Chinese government’s decision to approve its eye drug Lucentis, an injectable treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) – the main cause of blindness and severe vision loss in over 50s.

Lucentis has become the standard therapy for treating wet AMD, a disease that affects the macula - the part of the eye that lets us see fine detail, identify faces and carry out regular activities such as reading and driving.

"We are proud to bring Lucentis and Galvus to patients and physicians in China and support the achievement of the Chinese government's public health goals," David Epstein, head of Novartis’s pharmaceuticals division, said.

Commenting on China’s diabetes epidemic, Ning Guang, an endocrinologist at Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai, said " Uncontrolled diabetes is threatening to overwhelm our healthcare system."

"It is important that new treatments continue to be made available to help physicians address the growing healthcare need."

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