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Tekturna® (aliskiren) and Diovan® (valsartan) are both cardiovascular drugs from Novartis (VTX: NOVN).

Tekturna® is the first USFDA-approved direct renin inhibitor which works by directly targeting an enzyme that triggers a process that can lead to high blood pressure, it has been found generally well tolerated while providing significant blood pressure reductions for a full 24 hours.

Diovan® is the most-prescribed member of the ARB class (angiotensin receptor blocker) in the world today, it works by blocking the action of angiotensin II (the one that causes narrowing of blood vessels) and is available for the treatment of high blood pressure in more than 100 countries, for the treatment of heart attack survivors in more than 70 countries and in more than 90 countries for the treatment of people with heart failure.

Now, two studies have shown that patients taking these two medicines (Tekturna® and Diovan®) experienced greater reductions in blood pressure levels than those using either agent alone.

According to Suzanne Oparil, MD, Director of the Vascular Biology and Hypertension Program and Professor of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in Alabama:

"These study results are exciting because they suggest the value of different mechanisms of action when Tekturna and Diovan are used together. In addition to important blood pressure lowering, the combination of Tekturna and Diovan maintained a tolerability profile similar to that seen with either agent alone.”