Novartis to cease antibiotic R&D despite superbug threat

Novartis has quit research and development into antibiotics, becoming the latest pharma giant to stop work in this field. The move is despite attempts by governments and other organizations across the world to find a new generation of antibiotics, as strains of bacteria resistant to older compounds are becoming more common. Only this week the UK government pledged to give up to £10 million in funding for new ways to tackle the threat that could make common infectious diseases deadly – but this is a drop in the ocean compared with the billions of dollars that big pharma can invest in research.