Novartis plans to acquire Protez Pharmaceuticals for as much as $400 million. Protez is a privately held biotechnology company based in Malvern, PA. Its lead drug candidate, PZ-601, is an injectable antibiotic in Phase II development for the potential treatment of drug-resistant staph infections, known as MRSA, and other hospital infections. Novartis would acquire licensing rights to the drug in North America and Europe.     “We believe the growing presence of Novartis in the specialty ...