Sawt Falasteen - Novartis acquiring US firm Avidity Biosciences for $12 bn

"The proposed acquisition is expected to create an industry-leading pipeline, building on the Novartis expertise in spinal muscular atrophy and commercialisation capabilities in genetic neuromuscular diseases," Novartis said in a statement.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2026, after Avidity's early-stage precision cardiology programmes has been separated off into a new company.

Avidity common stock holders will receive $72 per share in cash when the deal closes -- a 46-percent premium on Friday's closing share price, Novartis said.

The deal values the company "at approximately $12 bn on a fully diluted basis and representing an enterprise value of approximately $11 bn at the expected closing date", it added.

Avidity Biosciences develops Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates (AOCs) to treat serious diseases, with an initial focus on rare neuromuscular genetic disorders.

"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," said Novartis chief executive Vas Narasimhan.

"The Avidity team has built robust programmes with industry-leading delivery of RNA therapeutics to muscle tissue," he added.

"We look forward to developing these programmes to meaningfully change the trajectory of diseases for patients."

Pharmaceutical companies are facing massive pressure from US President Donald Trump's administration to move production to the United States.

Novartis, based in Basel in northern Switzerland, announced in April that it planned to invest $23 billion in the United States over five years.

V.Said--SF-PST