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Novartis reshapes research, closes some Swiss, Chinese units

By John Miller ZURICH (Reuters) – Novartis is closing some of its research operations in Switzerland and China and cutting 175 jobs, part of the Swiss drug maker's effort to centralize control over its drug discovery programs and contain costs. Novartis, which employs 120,000 globally, is also relocating its tropical disease research arm from Singapore to California. The Basel-based company is consolidating research oversight within its Swiss headquarters and the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR) near Boston, now headed by Jay Bradner.

India issues alert to deter use of Roche’s Avastin drug for eyes

By Aditya Kalra NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India's federal drugs controller issued an alert on Thursday, asking states to ensure Swiss drugmaker Roche's cancer treatment Avastin was not administered to treat eyes, after its usage hampered vision in 15 patients. Despite being a cancer drug, Avastin is often used by doctors globally for eye ailments even though it does not have U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for that purpose. Studies have shown eye injections of Avastin can curb vision loss.