US court continues to prevent Teva from shipping any additional generic copies of the high blood pressure medicine Lotrel

29 mei 2007 * US court extends temporary restraining order blocking new Lotrel generics deliveries but continues to allow sale of generics already shipped to customers * Order extended until court ruling on an earlier preliminary injunction to block Teva from selling generic copies of Lotrel Basel, May 29, 2007 - A US federal court judge has extended a temporary restraining order stopping Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. from shipping any further supplies of a generic version of the high blood pressure medicine Lotrel®. However, the judge also continued to allow the sale of generic copies of Lotrel that had reached distributors and customers before the initial temporary restraining order on May 19. This order has been extended until a ruling from a judge in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey on an earlier request from Novartis for a preliminary injunction to stop Teva from selling its generic version of Lotrel. This ruling is expected in the near future. Disclaimer The foregoing release contains forward-looking statements which can be identified by the use of terminology such as "expected", "will continue", or similar expressions, or by express or implied discussions regarding the patent life of Lotrel, the potential for the continued maintenance of the injunction imposed against Teva, the potential for Novartis to succeed in the underlying litigation against Teva, potential future revenue to be earned from Lotrel and the potential impact of Teva's actions on the net sales, operating income and net income results for Novartis. 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. There can be no guarantee that Novartis will be successful in its efforts to defend its Lotrel patent, or that the court will continue to impose an injunction against the marketing of a generic version of Lotrel by Teva, or that Novartis will ultimately succeed in its litigation against Teva. Neither can there be any guarantees that Lotrel will achieve or maintain any particular sales levels in the future or that the Novartis Group will achieve any particular levels of net sales, operating income or net income results. In particular, management's expectations regarding Lotrel could be affected by, among other things, uncertainties involved in US patent law and the US litigation process; the company's ability to maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection; increased government, industry, and general public pricing pressures; competition in general; unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US 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. About Novartis Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS) is a world leader in offering medicines to protect health, cure disease and improve well-being. Our goal is to discover, develop and successfully market innovative products to treat patients, ease suffering and enhance the quality of life. We are strengthening our medicine-based portfolio, which is focused on strategic growth platforms in innovation-driven pharmaceuticals, high-quality and low-cost generics, human vaccines and leading self-medication OTC brands. Novartis is the only company with leadership positions in these areas. In 2006, the Group's businesses achieved net sales of USD 37.0 billion and net income of USD 7.2 billion. Approximately USD 5.4 billion was invested in R&D. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis Group companies employ approximately 100,000 associates and operate in over 140 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com. # # # Novartis Media Relations John Gilardi Sherry Pudloski Novartis Global Media Relations Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation +41 61 324 3018 (direct) +1 862 778 1271 (direct) +41 79 596 1408 (mobile) +1 917 620 4446 (mobile) john.gilardi@novartis.com sherry.pudloski@novartis.com e-mail: media.relations@novartis.com Novartis Investor Relations International: Ruth Metzler-Arnold +41 61 324 7944 Katharina Ambühl +41 61 324 5316 Nafida Bendali +41 61 324 3514 Jason Hannon +41 61 324 2152 Thomas Hungerbuehler +41 61 324 8425 Richard Jarvis +41 61 324 4353 North America: Ronen Tamir +1 212 830 2433 Arun Nadiga +1 212 830 2444 Jill Pozarek +1 212 830 2445 Edwin Valeriano +1 212 830 2456 e-mail: investor.relations@novartis.com --- End of Message --- Novartis International AG Posfach Basel WKN: 904278; ISIN: CH0012005267; Index: SLCI, SMI, SPI, SLIFE; Listed: Main Market in SWX Swiss Exchange, ZLS in BX Berne eXchange;