Novartis to Acquire Avidity Biosciences in $12 Billion Deal

Novartis announced on Sunday that it will acquire U.S.-based Avidity Biosciences for about $12 billion in cash in one of its largest deals to strengthen its pipeline of treatments for rare muscle disorders.

Under the terms of the deal, Avidity stockholders will receive $72 per share in cash, representing a 46% premium over the biotech firm’s closing price on Friday.

 The acquisition is part of Novartis’s aggressive strategy of diversifying its pipeline ahead of patent expirations for blockbuster drugs market drugs such as Entresto, Xolair, and Cosentyx.

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Under the agreement, Avidity will spin out to a new publicly traded company that will still be called Avidity and will focus on its early-stage precision cardiology programs. This allows Novartis to really focus on Avidity’s core assets that are tackling rare muscle diseases, an under-served area of medical need with less competition.

Avidity Biosciences, which operates out of San Diego, California, is a clinical-stage biotech developing first-in-class RNA-based therapies to treat muscle disorders. Avidity's lead candidate, Del-zota, is in early-to-mid-stage clinical development for a rare form of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and the company has two additional candidates in development as potential treatments for serious muscle disorders.

Through this acquisition of Avidity, Novartis looks to strengthen its presence in the U.S. market and invest in the rare disease space. This acquisition leaves Novartis in a stronger position to navigate the changing landscape of global pharmaceuticals and the threat of tariffs under the Donald Trump presidency.