I'm beginning to wonder whether there are any deals that Novartis
Today, news broke that Novartis will be buying British biotech company NeuTechPharma for about $569 million in cash. For that price, Novartis is getting a company focused on treatment-resistant infections, with two late-stage drugs in the pipeline. Mycograb, targeted at dangerous fungal infections, could be submitted for U.S. approval in 2009, while Aurograb (for staph infections) looks like it's about a year later in the queue.
But wait, there's more!
Yesterday, the company announced a deal with Human Genome Sciences
But wait, there's even more!
Novartis also announced a licensing deal with GenelabsTechnologies
Obviously, Novartis wants to establish a major franchise in hepatitis C, given both of these deals and past agreements with Idenix
If you're a company with a hep-C drug or a development program in that area, stay by the phone -- Novartis will probably be calling you, too. As for Novartis shareholders, I'm not quite sure what to think. I know it takes money to build a pipeline, but these guys have been doing deals left and right. Then again, we're talking about a strong pharmaceutical company in a weak sector that's still somewhat undervalued -- not exactly the worst story I've seen this week.
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Fool contributor Stephen Simpson but has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).