Novartis buys Manchester-based biotech and superbug drugs
pharmafile | June 21, 2006 | News story | Research and Development |Â Â Â
UK biotech NeuTec is to be acquired by Swiss pharma giant Novartis which says the company's two anti-infective drug candidates could be big earners.
The little-known Manchester-based firm, which is to be bought for 305 million pounds, has developed its own unique approach to tackling life-threatening infections.
NeuTec's research is focused on investigating why some patients die from serious infections while others live, with the aim of developing drugs which mimic the response of survivors in all patients.
It does this by developing genetically recombinant antibodies, or "grabs", based on immune response seen in these surviving patients.
The company has two lead products, Mycograb and Aurograb, both in late stage development.
Mycograb is for use against serious systemic fungal infections in conjunction with amphotericin B, and will be targeted at the systemic mycoses segment of the anti-fungal market which Novartis says is currently worth around $1.7 billion in the top seven markets.
Aurograb is an intravenous product for serious bacterial infections such as the hospital-acquired 'superbugs' which are resistant to many existing antibiotics. This is a rapidly growing segment of the antibiotics market, which is estimated to have generated around $1.5 billion in the top seven countries last year.
These and other indications already being pursued for the drugs – including treatment of breast cancer in the case of Mycrograb – could make them potential blockbusters.
Dr. Daniel Vasella, chief executive of Novartis, said: "Our proposed acquisition of NeuTec exemplifies our commitment to innovative medicines for severely ill patients. In clinical trials Mycograb has been shown to significantly lower the mortality of patients with severe fungal infections.
"Both Mycograb and Aurograb promise to dramatically improve the treatment possibilities in this area and will also enable Novartis to strengthen its biologics pipeline and anti-infective drug portfolio."
NeuTec was founded in 1997 by two doctors, Prof James Burnie and Prof Ruth Matthews, now chief executive and head of research respectively. The business partners can now expect to earn around 20 million pounds from their combined 7% stake in the company.
Prof James Burnie said: "The treatment of hospital-acquired infectious diseases is increasingly moving towards combination therapy to improve outcome and prevent the occurrence of resistance. We believe that our products, based on naturally occurring antibodies, are well suited to address this challenge.
The reach and resources of Novartis will help to maximise the potential of Mycograb and Aurograb to treat more patients and have a greater impact in an area of significant unmet medical need."
Novartis says NeuTec's products are a good fit with its existing specialist products in immunology, anti-virals, vaccines and transplantation.
The company concluded that the acquisition of NeuTec represents an opportunity for it to further expand into the hospital sector, which it says is a strategically attractive area due to the limited field force costs, concentrated target audience and access to key decision makers.
