Sandoz Canada launches (Pr)Sandoz Levetiracetam® 1000 mg tablets as an adjunctive treatment of epilepsy

• Sandoz Canada is the first company in Canada to offer levetiracetam in the higher concentration 1000 mg, enabling patients to reduce the number of tablets they need to take daily.
• ^PrSandoz Levetiracetam^® is indicated as adjunctive therapy in the management of patients with epilepsy who are not satisfactorily controlled by conventional therapy in the treatment of partial onset seizures in adults.
• This generic version improves patient access to high-quality medicines.

BOUCHERVILLE, Quebec, June 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sandoz Canada announced today that it has launched Sandoz Levetiracetam 1000 mg, indicated as adjunctive therapy in the management of patients with epilepsy who are not satisfactorily controlled by conventional therapy. Sandoz Canada is the first company in Canada to offer levetiracetam in the higher concentration 1000 mg, enabling patients to reduce the number of tablets they need to take daily.

Sandoz Levetiracetam, a generic version of Keppra*^®, has been available in 250 mg, 500 mg and 750 mg tablets in bottles of 100 since August 2017. Michel Robidoux, President and General Manager of Sandoz, noted that Sandoz Canada is committed to finding new ways to improve people's lives. "The addition of Sandoz Levetiracetam to our portfolio, including the new 1000 mg tablet, is part of our goal to improve medicines in order to better meet the needs of patients and healthcare professionals."

Epilepsy, the tendency to have recurrent seizures, is not a disease but a disorder of the central nervous system, specifically the brain. Epilepsy may develop at any point in one's life but most commonly in childhood or late in life.

According to the Canadian Epilepsy Alliance, epilepsy is the most common neurological disorder after migraine headaches. One in every 100 Canadians has active epilepsy and the chance of acquiring it at some time during life (i.e. its cumulative incidence) is about 2-4%¹. Epilepsy affects people of all ages, all nations, and all races.

^PrSandoz^® Levetiracetam is a trademark owned by Sandoz Canada Inc.
Keppra^® is a registered trademark of UCB Group of companies.

¹ Canadian Epilepsy Alliance website: http://epilepsymatters.com/information-resources/epilepsy-faq/explaining-epilepsy/

Disclaimer
The foregoing release contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by words such as "new ways," or similar terms, or regarding potential future revenues from Sandoz Levetiracetam. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of management regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that Sandoz Levetiracetam will be submitted or approved for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that Sandoz Levetiracetam will receive regulatory approval or be commercially successful in the future. In particular, management's expectations regarding Sandoz Levetiracetam could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including unexpected clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; the company's ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; general economic and industry conditions; global trends toward health care cost containment, including ongoing pricing pressures; unexpected manufacturing issues, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Sandoz Canada
Sandoz Canada is part of Sandoz International GmbH, a global leader in generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars and a subsidiary of Swiss multinational Novartis AG. A leader in its field, Sandoz Canada markets and distributes a broad line of generic, biosimilar, consumer and specialty products. For more information, visit www.sandoz.ca.

About Sandoz International GmbH
Sandoz is a global leader in generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars. As a division of the Novartis Group, our purpose is to discover new ways to improve and extend people's lives. We contribute to society's ability to support growing healthcare needs by pioneering novel approaches to help people around the world access high-quality medicine. Our portfolio of approximately 1000 molecules, covering all major therapeutic areas, accounted for 2017 sales of USD 10.1 billion. In 2017, our products reached well over 500 million patients. Sandoz is headquartered in Holzkirchen, in Germany's Greater Munich area.

For further information

Paule Pelletier
Sandoz Canada Inc.
+1 450 641 4903 ext. 2109
[email protected]

Chris Lewis
Sandoz Global Communications
+49 8924 476 1906
[email protected]