A Novartis AG sign on a building on the company’s headquarters campus in Basel, Switzerland, Monday, January 8, 2023.
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Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis Nearing agreement to acquire biotech company avidity bioscience Bloomberg News reported this, citing people familiar with the matter.
The report said a deal could be announced as early as Sunday.
Novartis and Aviditi did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.
Avidity specializes in developing an innovative class of ribonucleic acid (RNA) therapeutics called antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates. RNA-based therapeutics are a relatively new class of medicines that treat or prevent diseases by changing the way genes are expressed.
The reported discussions come as Novartis strengthens its research and development division. Earlier this year, the company pledged to invest $23 billion to build out its U.S. infrastructure, including plans to build a second research and development center in San Diego.
The company also signed two significant agreements this year with Anthos Therapeutics and Regulus Therapeutics to enhance its development and manufacturing of cardiovascular and kidney disease treatments.
Avidity stock closed at $49.15 on Friday. The company’s market capitalization is about $7.2 billion, up nearly 70% since the beginning of the year. Novartis stock closed at $130.36 on Friday.
Read the full report from Bloomberg News here.
