While neither firm has commented on the rumours, most observers believe that such a deal would make sense given that Novartis has ex-US marketing rights to Cubists’ injectable antibiotic Cubicin (daptomycin).
Other suggested that the US firm’s pipeline, particularly its surgical blood loss treatment ecallantide which has just entered Phase II, is an attractive proposition for any Big Pharma firm struggling to boost its pipeline.
However, praise for the deal was not universal. Some analysts cited the recent Cubicin patent challenge by Israeli generics firm Teva as a negative.
