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Valsartan: Exporting France's Success

Novartis' newfound marketing muscle has turned hypertension drug valsartan (Diovan) into a class leader worldwide, with $1.1 billion in sales last year. But the company's experience in France in tailoring its message to individual physicians has proved particularly successful, and provided a model for other countries.

Launched in Germany in 1996 and a year later in the US, Novartis AG 's valsartan (Diovan in much of the world, Tareg in France) was the second angiotensin II receptor antagonist onto the competitive hypertension market after Merck & Co. Inc. 's losartan (Cozaar). Today, with sales annualizing at $1.5 billion, valsartan is class-leader in a group Novartis has since re-labeled "ARBs"—Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers. As Novartis' largest product, valsartan was one of the primary drivers behind the group's 9% sales growth for the first half this year—and the 5% growth in the most recent quarter.

Valsartan's success stems largely from a fundamental overhaul in Novartis' marketing operations during the late nineties under the leadership of Thomas Ebeling, CEO of Novartis' pharmaceutical operations (see "Renewing Novartis,"...

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