Novartis agrees licence of early stage antibiotics to Boston Pharmaceuticals.

Novartis announced that it has entered into a licensing and equity agreement with Boston Pharmaceuticals for the development of three novel anti-infective drug candidates that are part of the Novartis Infectious Diseases portfolio, which have the potential to address the need for new agents to treat antibiotic resistant Gram-negative infections. Antibiotic resistance is widely recognized as a major public health threat and innovative candidates to combat drug resistant bacteria remain a critical unmet need. Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the World Health Organization (WHO) have identified CRE and drug resistant Pseudomonads as serious threats that pose significant risk to human health. Under the terms of the agreement, Boston Pharmaceuticals acquired worldwide rights to two complementary candidates targeting carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae (CRE) and one candidate targeting Pseudomonas infections. Novartis will receive an upfront payment and is entitled to royalties and milestone payments for successfully commercialized medicines. In addition, Novartis will receive an equity stake in two new companies formed together with Boston Pharmaceuticals to further develop and commercialize these programs. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The programs included in this agreement include: �LYS 228 is a potential best-in-class monobactam which has entered clinical development and which has demonstrated activity against CRE with resistance caused by serine beta-lactamases (SBLs) and/or metallo beta-lactamases (MBLs); � IID 572 is a novel beta-lactamase inhibitor that may be used in combination with LYS228 or other beta-lactam antibiotics to expand their use against difficult-to-treat infections caused by a broader spectrum of CRE; and �MAK 181 is an oral, first-in-class LpxC inhibitor for Pseudomonas infections.

Novartis� withdrawal from the antibiotic market follows a recent withdrawal of other big pharma companies including AstraZeneca, Sanofi, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Allergan.