It seems big pharma may be coming back to antibiotics, a treatment area they previously left for dead.

More products, but not more companies, has long been a rallying cry in biotech.

At its recent analyst day, InterMune Inc. updated investors on plans for the confirmatory trial required to obtain U.S. approval for its idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) drug Esbriet (pirfenidone), which the FDA slapped with a complete response letter last year.