In an $8.7 billion agreement, Swiss drugmaker Novartis recently acquired AveXis. The company moved in such a way in order to acquire a developmental therapy for spinal muscular atrophy. The new acquisitions by Novartis signals to many a transition towards gene therapy techniques and the advancement of precision medicines. Keep reading to learn more, or follow the original source here.
Novartis employs some 1,600 people in Ireland. In pursuit of cancer treatments, and drugs to combat respiratory conditions and skin disease, Novartis employs about 600 people. 350 people assist Novartis in the production of the company’s eye care products. Another 350 manage the business needs of the company in Dublin.
That’s where the company has been. Now, however, with the acquisition of AveXis, it seems Novartis is taking an ever stronger interest in gene therapy. The AveXis deal represents the company’s second big shift towards gene therapy treatments and technologies.
The acquisition of AveXis does not simply come with a name or an intended direction. AveXis intends to produce a treatment for spinal muscular atrophy. An inherited neurodegenerative disease, spinal muscular atrophy causes muscle weakness and degeneration. It is caused by a mutation on one specific gene (SMN1).
Novartis sees the potential in AveXis’s treatment. In November Avxs-101 impacted a small group of children with spinal muscular atrophy during a study. The children administered the new treatment reached developmental milestones at previously unimaginable rates. Novartis describes the new AveXis drug a potential “blockbuster.”
Thus, through the purchase of AveXis, Novartis gains access to a potentially powerful treatment for a rare disease. This is incredibly valuable technology. AveXis also represents a number of manufacturing and research opportunities at its various locations and through its own methods and technologies. This will allow Novartis to further develop its own cancer research, “to advance a growing pipeline of gene therapies across therapeutic areas,” according to chief executive Vas Narasimhan.
