Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

NVS closes 80-person neuroscience R&D unit:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204319004577084732044094736.html

Novartis AG said it is shutting down a neuroscience research unit in Switzerland and retooling the way it approaches brain diseases, a field that many drug companies have found difficult to tackle.
The company will close the 80-person unit at company headquarters in Basel, Switzerland, and scrap some of the group's research projects.

… Novartis is creating a new group at its main research center in Cambridge, Mass., to focus on the genetics of the brain, Dr. Fishman said. Over time the group will likely have "dozens" of scientists, he said.

Novartis wants to steer clear of research areas that offer the hope of only "incremental" change, he said, adding that the company would stop some Alzheimer's research for this reason.