New antibiotics basic research unit set up by Novartis Biochemie

Austria-based Biochemie GmbH, a division of Novartis' generics businesssector, has opened a new research unit devoted to developing and accelerating the search for innovative active substances to improve antibiotic therapy. To be called the Antibiotic Research Institute (ABRI)), it will be located in Vienna, adjacent to the Novartis Research Institute. The announcement came just a day after Novartis revealed it was setting up a new research center for tropical diseases in Singapore (Marketletter November 12).

The ABRI's drug development strategy has two approaches. In one, scientists will use classes of compounds such as beta-lactams, that are known to have antibiotic properties, in an effort to produce new derivatives with different or improved effects. In the other, researchers will test substances that have not been fully investigated for potential activity against pathogens.

The establishment of the new institute is a further advance in Biochemie's tradition as a major producer of generic anti-infectives, and it is also a leading manufacturer of beta-lactam antibiotics, such as penicillins and cephalosporins, the company says. In 2002, total sales of 10.9 billion Austrian schillings ($711.4 million) were achieved, with over 97% going to exports.