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Novartis to acquire AveXis for $8.7B

April 9, 2018 7:43 PM UTC

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS; SIX:NOVN) is acquiring gene therapy company AveXis Inc. (NASDAQ:AVXS) for $218 per share, or about $8.7 billion. The price represents an 88% premium to AveXis' close of $115.91 on Friday, before the deal was announced.

The deal will give Novartis AVXS-101, a gene therapy that is in Phase III testing to treat spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Novartis said the therapy could deliver peak sales in the multibillion dollar range. The pharma will also gain preclinical candidates to treat Rett syndrome and a form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis caused by mutations in the superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) gene. ...