Novartis is hoping to strengthen its biopharmaceutical portfolio by offering to acquire British firm NeuTec Pharma plc for $570 million, a 109% premium to the current share price.

NeuTec's portfolio specializes in hospital anti-infectives, its late stage candidates including recombinant antibody fragments that binds to cellular proteins and increases the efficacy of antibiotics in resistant strains particularly those involved in hospital infections.
Mycograb is targeted to help treat invasive candidiasis, and under clinical trials has demonstrated that it can increase the efficacy of the antibiotic amphotericin B. It is already awaiting EMEA market authorization in Europe.

Aurograb, already in Phase III clinical trials, is another add-on treatment, targets surface protein in Staphylococcus aureus, thus making it more susceptible to other antibiotics. Considering the increasing prevalence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), also known as the "hospital superbug", this candidate could fill a rapidly growing market.

Note that if this acquisition pushes through, this could be just the latest of the many acquisitions Novartis made in the last year, starting with Chiron Vaccines in November last year, and the most recent of which is this week's aquisition of exclusive rights to Human Genome Sciences' Albuferon.