Pharmaprojects R&D Pipeline News Feed
Aurograb dropped: Novartis to take financial hit
1st Sep 2008
Novartis will be subject to a US$235 million impairment charge in the third quarter of 2008, following its decision to halt development of Aurograb, a monoclonal antibody which was under development as an add-on treatment for MRSA. It targets and inhibits the S aureas ABC transporter, which pumps antibiotics out of bacterial cells.
Novartis added Aurograb to its pipeline as part of the NeuTec Pharma acquisition in 2006. The project was discontinued following Phase II results showing lack of efficacy as an adjunctive therapy in deep-seated MRSA infections.
MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureas) is a highly treatment-resistant bacterium, which causes life-threatening infections, particularly in hospitalised patients following surgery. It is resistant to the ß-lactam antibiotics, and treatment is limited to vancomycin and teicoplanin, which can only be administered intravenously.
There are currently 52 drugs in development for MRSA. The last drug successfully launched for this indication was Wyeth’s tigecycline in 2006.
