The Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG announced the acquisition of the US Tourmaline Bio Inc. in a deal valued at approximately $1,4 billion. Novartis, in its program to expand its pharmaceutical product range, is willing to pay $48 cash per share to get the New York-based biotech company: it is a approximately 60% premium Compared to Tourmaline Bio's closing price of around $30 yesterday, its shares have risen nearly 72% in the 12 months to yesterday's close.
Il Novartis title recorded a slight decline in trading this morning, but remains up about 15% since the beginning of the year. The main attraction of the US company is its development of a promising treatment to reduce systemic inflammation, one of the main causes of cardiovascular diseasesThe deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Novartis is looking for acquisitions which could increase its sales beyond 2025. The company will have to face the competition from generic drugs The company has announced plans to develop three low-cost drugs by the end of the year, including its best-selling heart drug, Entresto. In April, the company also agreed to acquire the U.S. biotechnology company Regulus Therapeutics, in a deal that could be valued at $1,7 billion.
The CEO You go narasimhan he dedicated years to renew your wallet of the company's obsolete drugs and focused the company's attention on innovative drugs for specific types of diseases. Last April, Novartis raised its forecast for the year after beating earnings estimates in the first quarter, driven by drugs for breast cancer, multiple sclerosis, and psoriasis.
Tourmaline's flagship drug
Tourmaline is focusing on the development of a drug (the anti-IL-6 IgG2 antibody called pacibekitug) for the treatment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, or ASCVD, Novartis emphasized today in a statement. ASCVD is caused by the buildup of plaque in the artery walls.
According to the American Heart Association, related diseases, including coronary artery disease and peripheral arterial disease, remain the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. "In the absence of currently widely adopted anti-inflammatory therapies for cardiovascular risk reduction, pacibekitug represents a potential breakthrough in addressing the residual inflammatory risk in Ascvd,” he said Shreeram Aradhye, President of Development and Chief Medical Officer of Novartis.
