UPDATE: Novartis Taking $235 Million Charge After Abandoning Drug
Friday August 29th, 2008 / 8h30
By Anita Greil Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES ZURICH -(Dow Jones)- Novartis AG (NVS) said Friday it will take a $235 million charge against third-quarter earnings after deciding to stop development of its Aurograb treatment for bacterial infections, because it showed a lack of efficacy. Novartis, based in Basel, said it will terminate development of Aurograb, a compound it at acquired two years ago as part of its takeover of U.K. drugmaker NeuTec Pharma. The charge reflects the full amount of intangible assets of the project. Late stage testing for Mycograb, another experimental compound acquired with NeuTec that is being assessed as an add-on therapy to drugs treating severe fungal infections is continuing, Novartis said. Novartis said it also continue to prepare Mycograb for filing it for regulatory approval. The charge isn't material and thus had little impact on Novartis' price, a Zurich-based trader said. At 0705 GMT, the shares were flat at CHF61.10. The stock has fallen 1.6% year-to-date, outperforming both the broader sector and the Swiss market index. Company Web Site: http://www.novartis.com -By Anita Greil, Dow Jones Newswires; +41 43 443 8044 ; anita.greil@dowjones.com Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/al?rnd=zqA%2BjI6lIzdxa%2FbHsvt05w%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
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