BASEL, SWITZERLAND and BRIDGEWATER, NJ--(MARKET WIRE)--Sep 3, 2007 -- Speedel (Swiss:SPPN.SW - News) today welcomed the promising results of SPP100 (Tekturna/Rasilez[1]) in a Phase II clinical trial with heart failure patients which were announced by Novartis and presented on 2 September in a late-breaking session at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Vienna, Austria by Professor John McMurray of the University of Glasgow, Scotland. The study results[2] show that SPP100, the first-in-class direct renin inhibitor, is generally well-tolerated and can potentially reduce the severity of heart failure, as indicated by significant reductions in brain naturietic peptide (BNP). Heart failure is a progressive condition which often occurs in patients with a history of high blood pressure[3]; it affects about 14 million patients around the world[4] and is a growing cause of hospitalization and death.
