BASLE, Switzerland (AFP) — Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis announced on Wednesday it had bought Protez Pharmaceuticals for 100 million dollars (64.8 million euros), thus acquiring the rights to a new antibiotic.
The initial 100-million-dollar payment could be followed by up to another 300 million depending on the performance of PZ-601, the antibiotic developed by Protez.
PZ-601 is currently undergoing phase II tests. Novartis and Protez are hoping it will act as a broad-spectrum antibiotic effective against potentially fatal drug-resistant infections, a growing problem in hospitals.
In its statement, Novartis said that more than 100,000 people were estimated to have died in the US and Europe from problems relating to antibiotic resistance.
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