The pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim again posted good business results for the first six months of 2007. The company grew by 2.1% in euro terms compared to EUR 5,296 million in 2006, achieving net sales of EUR 5,407 million. Currency-adjusted growth was 7.5%.

Boehringer Ingelheim and Pfizer today announced successful completion of the approval process for authorisation to market Spiriva® Respimat® in the European Union for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This positive opinion for the Spiriva® Respimat® is the cornerstone of all national approvals in 25 countries of the European Union. Spiriva® Respimat® is a propellant-free, new generation inhaler that combines innovative technology with the proven efficacy of Spiriva® (tiotropium).

Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH announced today that enrollment of the POTENT study will begin in August 2007. POTENT will compare the efficacy and safety of Aptivus® (tipranavir) versus darunavir, both with ritonavir as part of combination antiretroviral therapy. POTENT will include 800 treatment-experienced patients in 15 countries. The primary endpoint is time to virologic failure, with a secondary endpoint of virologic response at 48 weeks of treatment.

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) in London recommended the approval of the Merz- developed product Botulinum neurotoxin Type A. Merz is expecting approval in ten European countries within the next few months. The company already received approval in Denmark and Sweden.

UCB and SCHWARZ PHARMA announced today that Neupro® (Rotigotine Transdermal System), a new once-daily transdermal dopamine agonist approved for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of early-stage idiopathic Parkinson's disease, is now commercially available in retail pharmacies throughout the United States. Neupro® will be co-promoted by UCB and SCHWARZ PHARMA. These companies have dedicated sales forces that will immediately begin reaching out to physicians who treat Parkinson's disease nationwide.

Novartis has completed the sale of its Medical Nutrition business to Nestlé for USD 2.5 billion, one of the final steps in a divestment program to focus the Group's strategy on healthcare with pharmaceuticals at the core.

Sandoz is the first company to receive a positive opinion from European Union regulators supporting the approval of a biosimilar version of epoetin alfa, achieving another important milestone in its efforts to bring follow-on biological medicines to patients.

More than 250,000 patients in Europe are estimated to be treated with epoetin alfa, which is marketed under various brand names, and similar medicines to regulate the formation of red blood cells. Worldwide annual sales are estimated at more than USD 7 billion, including USD 600 million in Europe.