Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis will acquire Avidity Biosciences for around US$12 billion, as it seeks to invest further in the United States.
San Diego, California-based Avidity specialises in RNA therapeutics for neuromuscular diseases, which treat medical conditions by altering the ways genes are expressed. Avidity’s late-stage neuroscience programs will be added to Novartis under the acquisition.
“Avidity’s pioneering AOC [Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates] 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,” said Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan.
“The Avidity team has built robust programs with industry-leading delivery of RNA therapeutics to muscle tissue. We look forward to developing these programs to meaningfully change the trajectory of diseases for patients.”
Novartis plans to acquire all outstanding Avidity shares for $72.00 per share, with the transaction expected to close in 2026’s first half.
The purchase would raise Novartis’ compound annual growth rate from 5% to 6% for 2024 to 2029, Novartis said.
Novartis had pledged in April to invest $23 billion into its U.S. infrastructure over the next five years, including building a biomedical research hub in San Diego.
The company hopes to expand its neuroscience pipeline with new therapeutics for genetically defined diseases, it said.
Novartis’ (SIX: NOVN) share price closed at CHF104.08 on Friday, down from its previous close at $104.52.
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