Novartis: key acquisition with UK group Ziarco

Novartis announced an agreement for the acquisition of Ziarco Group Limited, a privately held company focused on the development of novel treatments in dermatology. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition adds UK-based Ziarco's once-daily oral H4 receptor antagonist, ZPL389, that is being developed for the chronic, itchy inflammatory skin condition to Novartis's existing portfolio of approved and investigational dermatological drugs.

Vasant Narasimhan, Global Head, Drug Development and Chief Medical Officer, Novartis. "We are proud of our dermatology capabilities shown by the recent successful launches of Cosentyx and Xolair. Now we're excited about a potential new medicine for people with eczema through the acquisition of Ziarco and the addition of a first-in-class oral H(4) receptor antagonist to our growing pipeline."