Novartis drops antibiotic, antiviral research

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS; SIX:NOVN) is exiting antibacterial and antiviral research, according to an emailed statement from the company.

The pharma plans to cut headcount at the Emeryville, Calif., campus of Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) by about 140 and is in discussions to out-license its preclinical programs, as well as antibiotic LYS228. According to ClinicalTrials.gov, LYS228 is in a pair of Phase II trials to treat complicated intra-abdominal infection (cIAI) and complicated urinary tract infection (cUTI)...