Recipients of Novartis Award in Diabetes Announced Today!

Today, Novartis have announced the winners of their prestigious Award in Diabetes. Professor Sir George Alberti of the Royal College of Physicians has accepted a Long-Standing Achievement Award

Judging panel praises 'outstanding quality of nominations

Basel, 13 June 2002 -- Novartis Pharma AG today announced the recipients of the 2002 Novartis Award in Diabetes. Four awards of $25,000 each will be given to clinical investigators judged to have made exceptional contributions to the field of diabetes.

The judging panel, comprised of independent internationally-recognised diabetes experts, selected two recipients in each of the categories: Long-Standing Achievement and Young Investigator.

Professor Eberhard Standl, Chair of the judging panel, said we were extremely impressed by the quality of the nominations this year. The recipients have conducted outstanding research, crucial to advancing our knowledge of diabetes. Their contributions have already had and will have a major impact on diabetes treatment and on the quality of life of millions of people around the world whose lives are affected by diabetes".

The Long-Standing Achievement Awards will be presented to Professor Sir George Alberti of the UK and Professor Daniel Porte of the USA for their exceptional and sustained achievements in clinical research, education and clinical practice.

 Professor Alberti is President of the International Diabetes Federation and has worked with the World Health Organisation for many years, serving on its Expert Advisory Panel since 1979. He is President of the Royal College of Physicians, Professor of Medicine at the University of Newcastle and Professor of Metabolic Medicine at Imperial College, London. Professor Alberti has devoted many years of his career to the needs of diabetic people in the developing world and the need for screening and more aggressive management of the disease.

 Professor Daniel Porte is Professor of Medicine at the University of California School of Medicine, Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine and Staff Physician at the VA San Diego Health Care System. Professor Porte's career has spanned more than 30 years of research in diabetes. He has published over 350 professional papers on topics as far-reaching and diverse as insulin action in the central nervous system; beta cell dysfunction and preservation; and the pathophysiology of impaired glucose tolerance.

The Young Investigator Award recognises innovative patient-oriented research in the fields of physiology, pathophysiology or epidemiology of diabetes and its complications. Awards will be presented to Dr Riccardo Bonadonna of Italy and Dr Kitt Petersen of the USA.

 Dr Riccardo Bonadonna is Assistant Professor at the University of Verona Medical School. Dr. Bonadonna has published over 60 papers on topics such as insulin and its metabolic effects.

 Dr Kitt Petersen is Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and Assistant Director of the General Clinical Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr Petersen's work in the broad area of diabetes research has focused on endocrinology, glucose metabolism, and insulin-resistance.

"We, at Novartis, honour this year's recipients for their personal and professional commitment to diabetes," said Dr. James Shannon, Global Head of Clinical Research and Development from Novartis. "We hope that the Novartis Award in Diabetes will continue to inspire researchers from around the world to strive for the highest standards in diabetes treatment and clinical research."

Award Recipients will be honoured during a gala Presentation Dinner at the Hungarian National Gallery, to be held on 3rd September, during the EASD in Budapest. Recipients will receive US $25,000 from Novartis.

Novartis Commitment to Diabetes
This international award is one of many activities that Novartis is supporting to help increase awareness of and urgency for innovation in diabetes research, education and clinical practice. Novartis is constantly exploring new approaches for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and has recently launched Starlix (nateglinide), a novel insulin secretion agent. Starlix is a derivative of the amino acid D-phenylalanine and uniquely restores the physiological insulin secretion pattern lost in people with type 2 diabetes, thereby preventing the mealtime glucose spikes that increase the risk of long-term complications.

The release contains certain forward-looking statements which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as constantly exploring", new approaches", novel", uniquely restores", or similar expressions. 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 are no guarantees that the commercialization of any product in any market will be successful. Additional factors that would cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested in any forward-looking statements are contained in the Companys Form 20F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those factors discussed under the caption Risk Factors" in the Companys recent SEC filings. Any of these and other factors can cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected or predicted results.

About Novartis
Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS) is a world leader in healthcare with core businesses in pharmaceuticals, consumer health, generics, eye-care, and animal health. In 2001, the Group's businesses achieved sales of CHF 32.0 billion (USD 19.1 billion) and a net income of CHF 7.0 billion (USD 4.2 billion). The Group invested approximately CHF 4.2 billion (USD 2.5 billion) in R&D. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis Group companies employ about 71 000 people and operate in over 140 countries around the world. For further information please consult http://www.novartis.com.

For further information on the Novartis Award in Diabetes, please visit the Novartis Portal for Type 2 Diabetes www.diabetesandhealth.com or contact Carol Mason on 020 7309 1298; carol.mason@uk.ogilvypr.com.

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