Via the New York Times:
The Swiss pharmaceutical maker Novartis said Tuesday that it had received United States approval for the hypertension drug Tekturna, a potential blockbuster that is the first new type of blood pressure medicine in more than a decade. Approval from the Food and Drug Administration makes the United States the first country to allow it to be sold. The drug is expected to reach American pharmacies later this month, the company said. Given in tablets, it acts by inhibiting renin, an enzyme secreted primarily by the kidneys that raises blood pressure.