Novartis agrees to buy Avidity Biosciences for $12bn
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Novartis has signed an agreement for the acquisition of all outstanding shares of US-based Avidity Biosciences for $12bn in cash on a fully diluted basis.
This represents an enterprise value of close to $11bn at the expected closing date of the deal. Novartis has been proactively striking deals this year to address the impending patent cliff for some of its blockbuster drugs, including Entresto for heart failure, Xolair for asthma and Cosentyx for autoimmune diseases.
Under the terms of the deal, Avidity will separate its early-stage precision cardiology programs into a new company called Spinco, which is expected to be a publicly traded company, Avidity said in a separate release.
Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan stated: “Avidity’s pioneering AOC platform for RNA therapeutics and its late-stage assets bolster our commitment to delivering innovative, targeted and potentially first-in-class medicines to treat devastating, progressive neuromuscular diseases. “The Avidity team has built robust programmes with industry-leading delivery of RNA therapeutics to muscle tissue. We look forward to developing these programmes to meaningfully change the trajectory of diseases for patients.” The acquisition is projected to raise Novartis’s anticipated sales compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2024 to 2029 from 5% to 6%. Novartis expects the deal to strengthen its position in genetic neuromuscular diseases, building upon its expertise in spinal muscular atrophy.
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