Reviving the antibiotic pipeline will require investing around $37 billion over the next decade, according to an assessment by UK economist Jim O’Neill, reported The Wall Street Journal. O’Neill indicated industry could funnel money into an innovation fund but also expected taxes would be used to support the project. He said investing in antibiotics that can defeat drug-resistant superbugs is a modest expense compared to the economic impact of failing to do so. He estimates superbugs could kill 300 million people over 35 years, cutting global GDP estimates for 2050 by up to 3.5%.

Roche’s alectinib shrank tumors in about 50% of patients with advanced ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer among those patients whose cancer had spread after being treated with Pfizer’s Xalkori. Phase-I/II studies also showed the drug shrank tumors among patients whose cancer had spread to the central nervous system, a complication that PMLive said occurs in about half of NSCLC patients. Roche plans to file the drug with the FDA this year. It launched in Japan last year.

An experimental monoclonal antibody developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb and AbbVie delayed progression of multiple myeloma by an average of 4.5 months when combined with dexamethasone and Celgene’s Revlimid, reported The Wall Street Journal. Clinical trial results showed that elotuzumab reduced the risk of disease progression or death by around 30% two years after treatment.

Abbott Laboratories will develop a blood test to identify the best candidates for AstraZeneca’s experimental Phase-III asthma medication, tralokinumab, reported Pharmabiz. The test, as explained by PMLive, would detect serum levels of the protein periostin and DPP4, which may serve as biomarkers for increased IL-13 activity, which tralokinumab is meant to counteract.

Sandoz wants compensation for lost sales of its biosimilar Zarxio. BioCentury reported that the Novartis subsidiary asked the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to require a $179.4-million bond from Amgen. The bond amounts to $460,000 per day from May 11 through June 3, 2016, one year from the first oral arguments. The court imposed a temporary injunction on Zarxio’s launch last week.