Novartis acquires gene therapy company
Novartis has acquired clinical-stage gene therapy company AveXis.
The Swiss company’s plan to buy AveXis for $8.7 billion was announced in April this year.
AveXis has one product candidate, AVXS-101, which it is developing for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) Type 1, the leading genetic cause of infant mortality, and SMA Type 2.
Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis, said the companies have the potential to bring to children “the first one-time gene-based treatment for the devastating disease”.
The deal also supports Novartis’s strategy to innovate in areas of high unmet medical need, “and advances our growing pipeline of gene therapies with the potential to transform the care of diseases, from SMA and cancer to blindness”.
According to AveXis, the life expectancy of children with SMA Type 1 is less than two years.
In 2017, Novartis made net sales of $49.1 billion and spent approximately $9 billion on research and development.
Novartis has also bolstered its oncology portfolio with the acquisition of Advanced Accelerator Applications, a France-based radiopharmaceutical company. The deal was announced in October last year.
