Novartis AG Snaps Up Cambridge Cancer Drug Firm

Novartis AG (ADR) (NYSE:NVS) is set to buy CoStim Pharmaceuticals Inc. to beef up its cancer immunotherapy pipeline. The Switzerland-based company said in a statement Monday that it will acquire Cambridge, Massachusetts-based CoStim, a closely held biotechnology company for an undisclosed sum. $35 billion annual sales A hot field of cancer treatment known as immunotherapy may reach $35 billion in annual sales. Sensing opportunity in the hot area, recently Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) announced it is involved in three separate collaboration agreements for clinical trials testing the promising MK-3475 immunotherapy cancer treatment, part of a new class of immunotherapies that…