ZURICH: Swiss drugmaker Novartis could get into the hot field of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology, which has come to the fore during the coronavirus pandemic, Chairman Joerg Reinhardt said in a newspaper interview.

"The mRNA technology has proven to be an attractive option in this situation and of course every research company is questioning whether they should invest more in this area," he told the Swiss paper Aargauer Zeitung.

"Novartis is doing the same and we are having the discussion this week in the executive committee and then in August in the board of directors," he added without being more specific.

Many companies, including Novartis, had withdrawn from antiviral and antibacterial research, figuring the probability of success was relatively low. "We are now reassessing that," he said.