A Clinical Study to Evaluate the Long-term Safety (12 Months) of the Combination of Aliskiren 300 mg and Hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg

A 4 Month Extension to a 12 Month, Randomized, Open-label, Multicenter, Study to Assess the Long-term Safety of Aliskiren 150 mg Alone and 300 mg Alone or With the Optional Addition of Hydrochlorothiazide (12.5 mg or 25 mg) in Patients With Essential Hypertension

The purpose of this study is to collect the long-term (12 months) safety data on aliskiren 300 mg when taken in combination with HCTZ 25 mg.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. their successful completion of the CSPP100A2302 core study with at least eight months combination treatment of aliskiren 300 mg and HCTZ 25 mg, i.e., patients who received aliskiren 300 mg and HCTZ 25 mg at Month 4 of the core study and complete the core study.
2. absence of ongoing severe adverse events at Visit 10.