Novartis said it has entered into an agreement to acquire Avidity Biosciences, a San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company focused on a new class of therapeutics enabling RNA delivery to muscle. The acquisition will follow the separation of Avidity’s early-stage precision cardiology programs.
Avidity is developing RNA therapeutics called Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates (AOCs) for serious, genetic neuromuscular diseases. The proposed acquisition will bring Avidity’s late-stage neuroscience programs into Novartis and provide Novartis access to a differentiated RNA-targeting delivery platform. These programs are expected to advance the company’s neuroscience strategy and complement the current pipeline with potential therapeutic candidates that address the genetic drivers of muscle-damaging conditions.
Under the terms of the transactions, which have been unanimously approved by the boards of both companies, Novartis, through a merger with a newly formed indirect wholly owned subsidiary, will acquire all outstanding shares of Avidity. The deal values the company at approximately $12 billion on a fully diluted basis, and represents an enterprise value of approximately $11 billion at the expected closing date.
