NOVARTIS FILES ESTRADOT®, SMALLEST HORMONE REPLACEMENT PATCH, IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

BASEL, SWITZERLAND AND MIAMI, FL. - August 2, 2001 - Novartis Pharma AG and Noven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVN) announced today that Novartis Pharma has applied for marketing authorization for Estradot® (transdermal 17-beta estradiol) in the European Union under the Mutual Recognition Procedure, which would give the drug marketing authorization in all European Union Member States. Estradot was recently approved in the Netherlands, which will act as the Reference Member State, for the treatment of menopausal symptoms and the prevention of post-menopausal osteoporosis.

Estradot offers patients a convenient, comfortable and cosmetically attractive means of administering hormone replacement therapy. An advance over older technology, Estradot provides improved adhesion, reduced skin irritation and is almost invisible on the skin.

"Estradot further consolidates our strong global portfolio in Women's Health products," said Thomas Ebeling, CEO, Novartis Pharma. "Given its success in the U.S., we have high aspirations for Estradot in Europe, where hormone replacement patches are extremely popular."

Robert C. Strauss, Noven's President, CEO and Chairman, added, "We are pleased that Novartis continues to advance the European approval process for Estradot, which underscores Novartis' continuing commitment to our advanced transdermal products and technologies."

Developed and manufactured by Noven, Estradot is licensed by Novartis in all countries outside the US and Japan. In the US, Novartis and Noven market the product as Vivelle-Dot™ through their jointly-owned Women's Health company, Vivelle Ventures LLC (also known as Novogyne Pharmaceuticals).

About Hormone Replacement Therapy
Novartis pioneered transdermal hormone replacement therapy in the 1980s, meeting the needs of peri- and post-menopausal women requiring relief from menopausal symptoms and protection against osteoporosis. Menopausal symptoms include hot flushes and night sweats, disturbed sleep, memory loss, and skin atrophy, as well as the potential long-term consequence of osteoporosis. It is estimated that by 2005, 36% of women will be aged over 50 and have a potential need for alleviation of distressing menopausal symptoms that compromise their quality of life.

The forgoing press release contains forward-looking statements which can be identified by terminology such as "applied", "would", "aspirations", "estimated" or similar expressions. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. The successful commercialization of Estradot can be affected by, amongst other things, uncertainties relating to product development, regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally, the ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection, competition in general as well as factors discussed in the Form 20-F filed by Novartis AG, and the Form 10-K and Form 10-Qs filed by Noven, with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

About Novartis
Novartis (NYSE: NVS) is a world leader in healthcare with core businesses in pharmaceuticals, consumer health, generics, eye-care, and animal health. In 2000, the Group's ongoing businesses achieved sales of CHF 29.1 billion (USD 17.2 billion) and invested approximately CHF 4.0 billion (USD 2.4 billion) in R&D. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis employs about 67,600 people and operates in over 140 countries around the world. For further information please consult http://www.novartis.com.

About Noven
Noven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVN), headquartered in Miami, Florida, is a leader in the development of transdermal and transmucosal drug delivery technologies and products. Noven's existing products include advanced estrogen transdermal delivery systems (including Vivelle® and Vivelle-Dot™, licensed to Novogyne, and Estradot™, licensed to Novartis) and combination estrogen/progestin transdermal delivery systems (including CombiPatch™, licensed to Novogyne, and Estalis®, licensed to Novartis). With a range of additional products in development, including once-daily MethyPatch® for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Noven is committed to becoming the world's premier developer, manufacturer and marketer of transdermal and transmucosal drug delivery systems.

Investor & Media Contact:
Joseph C. Jones
Vice President, Corporate Affairs
Noven Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(305) 253-1916

 

Copyright ©  2001 Noven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. All rights reserved.