Healthcare solutions provider, Novartis, is set to gain further ground in the area of gene therapy through its agreement to acquire AveXis — US-based clinical stage gene therapy company — for $8.7 billion.
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AveXis has several ongoing clinical studies for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), an inherited neurodegenerative disease caused by a defect in a single gene, the survival motor neuron (SMN1). Its lead product in this therapeutic field, AVXS-101, has been granted breakthrough therapy designation in the US, PRIME designation in the EU and Sakigake in Japan. Availability to US patients is anticipated in 2019.
“The proposed acquisition of AveXis offers an extraordinary opportunity to transform the care of SMA,” explained Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis. “We believe AVXS-101 could create a lifetime of possibilities for the children and families impacted by this devastating condition. The acquisition would also accelerate our strategy to pursue high-efficacy, first-in-class therapies and broaden our leadership in neuroscience. We would gain with the team at AveXis another gene therapy platform, in addition to our CAR-T platform for cancer, to advance a growing pipeline of gene therapies across therapeutic areas. We look forward on the closing of the deal to a smooth transition for AveXis employees and welcoming them to Novartis.”
“Bringing AveXis on board would support both our ambition to be a leader in neurodegenerative diseases and our Neuroscience franchise priorities to strengthen our position in devastating paediatric neurological diseases such as SMA,” added Paul Hudson, CEO Novartis Pharmaceuticals. “We relish the opportunity to leverage our expertise, our 70-plus year heritage in neuroscience and our global footprint to help AVXS-101 benefit high-need SMA patients around the world.”
This deal is expected to complete mid 2018 and was unanimously approved by boards of both companies.