Novartis in the zone

Executive Summary

Novartis' hypertension programs have improved compliance by 50 percent, the firm reports during its Q4 earnings call Jan. 18. Novartis has enrolled 500,000 patients worldwide in its "BP Zone" compliance initiative, a part of its "category captainship" strategy to enhance its leadership position in the hypertension market. Novartis is offering patients assistance with managing blood pressure by offering blood pressure monitors, information services and an educational Web site (1"The Pink Sheet" Oct. 30, 2006, p. 13). "We believe based on our analysis that those patients which were enrolled and stayed on the program, the compliance rate was increased by 50 percent," CEO Thomas Ebeling says. "That's one of the reasons why our market share in the U.S. has recovered"...