- Femara demonstrated significant advantage in disease free survival vs. tamoxifen, particularly in subgroups of postmenopausal women at increased risk of breast cancer recurrence (29% reduction in node- positive patients; 30% in those who had received prior chemotherapy)

- Femara greatly reduced the risk of cancer spreading to other parts of the body (distant metastases)

EAST HANOVER, N.J., May 13 / -- Femara(R) (letrozole tablets) treatment of postmenopausal women with early breast cancer prolonged disease free survival by reducing the risk of recurrence an additional 19% (p=0.003) over that offered by tamoxifen when used as initial treatment after surgery, according to data from the Breast International Group (BIG) 1-98 study.

Even more importantly, use of Femara resulted in greater disease free survival in two subgroups of women who are at particularly increased risk of recurrence -- those whose cancer had already spread to the lymph nodes at the time of diagnosis (node positive) and those who had received chemotherapy. The risk reductions in these subgroups were 29% and 30%, respectively.

The results also showed that for all women in the study, Femara reduced, by 27%, the risk that cancer would spread to other parts of the body (distant metastases), compared with the reduction offered by tamoxifen (p=0.0012). This is important, because women who develop distant metastases are at greater risk of dying from breast cancer. These findings were presented today at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology in Orlando, Florida.

"Women with early breast cancer are at highest risk of recurrence during the first five years after surgery," said PD Dr. Beat Thurlimann, MD, Scientific Secretary General, Therapy of Early Breast Cancer Senology Center of Eastern Switzerland, Kantonsspital, St. Gallen. "The BIG 1-98 study showed that Femara offered postmenopausal women with hormone-sensitive early breast cancer increased benefit, compared with tamoxifen, by reducing the risk of recurrence and by decreasing the risk of distant metastasis, a risk factor for death."

Further, there was a statistically significant reduction of 17% in the risk of systemic failure. That is, a recurrence of cancer in sites other than the breast, or death without recurrence (p=0.017). There was a 14% reduction in risk of death in favor of Femara that was not statistically significant (p=0.15). Patients will continue to be monitored to track disease status, survival and long-term tolerability of their treatment.

"These data, like those in the extended adjuvant setting, show that Femara reduces recurrence of distant metastatic disease and offers increased protection for women most at risk for breast cancer recurrence. More women are living free of breast cancer recurrence on Femara compared with tamoxifen. We look forward to updated results from the sequential arms of the BIG 1-98 study," said Diane Young MD, Vice President and Global Head, Clinical Development, Novartis Oncology.

Study details

This Phase III, randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial enrolled more than 8,000 postmenopausal women with early breast cancer, in 27 countries. The median follow-up time was 26 months. The study was supported by Novartis.

Disease free survival (DFS), the primary efficacy endpoint in this study, was defined as the time from randomization to invasive loco-regional recurrence, distant metastasis, invasive contralateral breast cancer, a second non-breast primary tumor or death without recurrence, whichever occurred first.

These data complement those of the landmark MA-17 trial for the use of Femara in the extended adjuvant setting. The term extended adjuvant describes the period following standard adjuvant treatment with tamoxifen. Femara is the only aromatase inhibitor shown to be effective in both the adjuvant and extended adjuvant settings.

About BIG 1-98

Initial results from the final analysis of the head-to-head comparison of Femara with tamoxifen in study BIG 1-98 were presented at the Primary Therapy of Early Breast Cancer 9th International Conference in St. Gallen, Switzerland in January 2005. The trial was conducted by the International Breast Cancer Study Group (IBCSG), with participation of the Danish Breast Cancer Group, the French FNCLCC group, the Yorkshire Group and many independent centers.

BIG 1-98 is the only clinical trial designed to incorporate both a head- to-head comparison of Femara with tamoxifen during the first five years following breast cancer surgery and a sequencing of both agents to determine the most effective approach to minimizing the risk of recurrence. Patients were randomized to the following arms: tamoxifen for five years; Femara for five years; tamoxifen for two years followed by Femara for three years; and Femara for two years followed by tamoxifen for three years. Results from the ongoing arms of the study, which are expected to determine whether monotherapy or sequential therapy is more effective, and if sequential therapy, which sequence is more effective, are expected in 2008. Based on the initial results from the BIG 1-98 data, Novartis expects to submit regulatory submissions globally for Femara monotherapy in the adjuvant setting by mid- 2005.

The spectrum of adverse events found in the study is consistent with published data. In this trial, patients treated with Femara had significant reductions in vaginal bleeding (3.3% vs. 6.6%); hot flushes (33.5% vs. 38%); endometrial biopsies (2.3% vs. 9.1%); invasive endometrial cancer (0.2% vs. 0.5%); and, thromboembolic disorders, both overall (1.5% vs. 3.5%) and severe events (0.8% vs. 2.1%) when compared to tamoxifen. Average non-fasting blood levels of cholesterol were slightly higher in the letrozole arm than in the tamoxifen arm. There were more severe ischemic cardiovascular disorders (1.1% vs. 0.6%) including myocardial infarction (0.5% vs. 0.3%) in patients treated with Femara than with tamoxifen. As expected with estrogen deprivation, the number of women reporting new bone fractures to date was 5.7% on Femara and 4.0% on tamoxifen.

Overall, more deaths were reported on tamoxifen (n=192) than on letrozole (n=166). More patients on tamoxifen (n=154) died from breast cancer than Femara (n=111). In patients whose breast cancer did not recur, more deaths due to cardiac causes were reported in Femara treated patients (n=13) than tamoxifen treated patients (n=6). Further analysis of these preliminary data is ongoing.

About Femara

Femara is a leading once-a-day oral aromatase inhibitor currently available in more than 90 countries worldwide. Femara is approved for extended adjuvant treatment of early breast cancer in postmenopausal women who have completed standard adjuvant tamoxifen therapy in 57 countries worldwide, now including member countries of the EU as well as the United States. In addition, it is indicated for first-line treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive or hormone receptor-unknown locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer and for the treatment of advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women with disease progression following anti-estrogen therapy. Not all indications are available in every country.

Contraindications, warnings and adverse events

You should not take Femara if you are pregnant as it may cause fetal harm. You must be postmenopausal to take Femara.

Commonly reported side effects are generally mild to moderate. Those seen more often with Femara versus placebo were hot flashes (50% vs. 43%), joint pain (22% vs. 18%) and muscle pain (7% vs. 5%). Other side effects, which were comparable to placebo, include fatigue (34% vs. 32%), swelling due to fluid retention (18% vs. 16%), headache (20% vs. 20%), increase in sweating (24% vs. 22%) and increase in cholesterol (16% vs. 16%).

Longer follow up is needed to determine the risk of fracture associated with long-term use of Femara. The percentage of patients on Femara versus placebo reporting a fracture was 5.9% vs. 5.5%. The percentage of patients reporting osteoporosis was 6.9% vs. 5.5%. Bisphosphonates, drugs that increase bone strength, were given to 21.1% of Femara patients and 18.7% of placebo patients.

The foregoing release contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by terminology such as "helped," "expects," "first," demonstrated," "shown effective," "continued," "offered," "potentially," "may be," "more likely," "look forward," or similar expressions, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential future sales of Femara. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results with Femara to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee that Femara will reach any particular sales levels. In particular, management's expectations regarding commercialization of Femara could be affected by, among other things, additional analysis of Femara clinical data; new clinical data; unexpected clinical trial results; unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; the company's ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection; competition in general; increased government, industry, and general public pricing pressures; and other risks and factors referred to in the Company's current Form 20-F on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For more information

Patients interested in more information regarding Femara can contact the Novartis toll-free number 1-866-4FEMARA or the websites, http://www.us.femara.com/ or http://www.us.novartisoncology.com/.

Reporters interested in more information regarding Femara or Novartis Oncology can visit the Novartis Oncology Virtual Press Office at http://www.novartisoncologyvpo.com/. The site features background information on Novartis Oncology products.

About Novartis

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation researches, develops, manufacturers and markets leading innovative prescription drugs used to treat a number of diseases and conditions, including central nervous system disorders, organ transplantation, cardiovascular diseases, dermatological diseases, respiratory disorders, cancer and arthritis. The company's mission is to improve people's lives by pioneering novel healthcare solutions.

Located in East Hanover, New Jersey, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation is an affiliate of Novartis AG ( NYSE:NVS) -- a world leader in pharmaceuticals and consumer health. In 2004, the Group's businesses achieved sales of USD 28.2 billion and net income of USD 5.6 billion. The Group invested approximately USD 4.2 billion in R&D. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis Group companies employ approximately 81,400 people and operate in over 140 countries around the world. For further information please consult http://www.novartis.com/.

   John Gilardi
   Novartis Global Media Relations
   +41 61 324  3018 (direct)
   +41 79 596 1408 (mobile)
   John.Gilardi@group.novartis.com

   Kim Fox
   Novartis Pharma Communications
   +1 862 778 7692 (direct)
   +1 973 960 7532 (mobile)
   Kim.Fox@novartis.com

Source: Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation

CONTACT: John Gilardi of Novartis Global Media Relations,
+41-61-324-3018 (direct), or +41-79-596-1408 (mobile),
John.Gilardi@group.novartis.com, or Kim Fox of Novartis Pharma Communications,
+1-862-778-7692 (direct), or +1-973-960-7532 (mobile), Kim.Fox@novartis.com

Web Site: http://www.novartis.com/
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