Seeking high-value drugs, Novartis adds kidney franchise in $3.2B Chinook takeout

As Novartis prioritizes high-value drugs that will deliver at least $2 billion in peak sales, the pharma’s acquisition of Chinook suggests it will need to show that at least one of the kidney disease therapies it’s obtaining in the deal can perform far better than their competitors’ therapies have thus far.

The deal to acquire Chinook Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:KDNY) for $3.2 billion up front gives Novartis AG (SIX:NOVN; NYSE:NVS) two candidates for IgA nephropathy, including one that’s due to deliver pivotal data this year and another set to begin Phase III testing next quarter...