Novira Therapeutics founded by Ali Munawar (SLP Boston, 2011) acquired by Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) announced a definitive agreement to acquire Novira Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company.  The acquisition includes Novira's portfolio of novel antivirals, including its lead candidate, NVR 3-778. NVR 3-778 is a small molecule, direct acting antiviral, for oral administration in patients with HBV that inhibits the HBV core or capsid protein. HBV core is a novel and promising drug target since it is involved in multiple activities required for viral replication and persistence.

Novira www.noviratherapeutics.com is an antiviral drug discovery company that is focused on the discovery of novel, first-in-class therapeutics for the treatment of HBV and HIV, two global diseases in need of improved therapies. Novira’s advantage comes from using an innovative drug discovery and development paradigm together with a cost-efficient operational model that reduce the time and cost to deliver drug candidates with clinical proof of concept (POC).

Read more here or connect with Ali at ali.munawa@gmail.com.