Via takeout of Atlas-grown optogenetic play for $150M up front, Novartis adds to gene therapy arsenal 

Novartis’ acquisition of Atlas-incubated start-up Vedere Bio will bolster an ophthalmic gene therapy portfolio spearheaded by Luxturna, and will give the Swiss pharma technology to deliver gene therapies to the retina intravitreally. 

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS; SIX:NOVN) said Thursday that it paid $150 million up front for Vedere Bio Inc. in September, with Vedere Bio shareholders eligible for $130 million in milestones. The pharma gains two preclinical intravitreally-injected AAV gene therapies for pan-genotypic vision restoration in patients with photoreceptor-based vision loss...