Under terms of this transaction, Novartis agreed to fully acquire Protez for $100 million. Protez’s owners are eligible for additional payments of up to $300 million, which are contingent upon clinical milestones, regulatory approval for PZ-601 and the achievement of commercialization targets.
This transaction with Protez is subject to customary conditions for a transaction of this type. Protez will operate as a stand-alone subsidiary of Novartis, continuing its operations in Malvern, Pennsylvania.
The addition of PZ-601 is said to further expand the Novartis portfolio of specialty medicines for severe infectious diseases, which already includes approved medicines as well as development compounds for use in treating hospital-based infections and hepatitis. Novartis plans to start additional clinical trials for PZ-601, with the aim of first regulatory submissions in 2012.
PZ-601 is a new antibiotic in a class of agents known as carbapenems. Medicines in this class are useful in treating life-threatening infections caused by Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.
Joe Jimenez, CEO of Novartis Pharma, said: “The addition of Protez and its pipeline, including PZ-601, to our existing initiatives will further strengthen our position in the specialty field of hospital infections while helping to address the public health challenges of increasing bacterial resistance and high mortality rates.”