The pharmaceutical trend toward increasing concentration appears to be gaining momentum. On September 15, Novartis shareholders approved the company’s proposed spinoff of Sandoz, the generics and biosimilars unit. The company anticipates the deal to close in early October. Similarly, Sanofi is also taking a scalpel to its operations, offloading a selection of its central nervous…
Sanofi, Merck and Novartis top pharma M&A in recent years
Despite a temporary slowdown during the early days of the pandemic, the pharma sector has witnessed a steady rise in M&A activity over the years. The number of deals climbed from 23 in 2018 to 43 in 2022. Major players driving this trend include Sanofi, Merck & Co. and Novartis. Those three players have made…
Novartis aims to offload eye care unit to Bausch + Lomb for up to $2.5 billion
Novartis has agreed to sell ophthalmology assets to Bausch + Lomb for an upfront payment of $1.75 billion, with potential milestone payments of up to $750 million. The total value of the deal could reach $2.5 billion. Novartis expects the deal to improve their focus more on higher-margin drugs. Under the terms of the deal,…
Novartis to spend up to $3.5 billion to acquire Chinook amid pharma M&A upsurge in 2023
Eyeing the booming renal therapeutics market, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG plans to spend up to $3.5 billion on Chinook Therapeutics. The deal marks the latest in a string of high-profile mergers and acquisition (M&A) deals in the pharma sector over the past roughly half year. Chinook’s kidney disease specialization in the Novartis M&A equation…
Novartis to spin off Sandoz
Novartis announced today that it intends to separate Sandoz into a new, publicly traded standalone company through a 100% spinoff. The spinoff of the generics and biosimilars division of Novartis aims to maximize shareholder value by creating the top European generics company and a global leader in biosimilars, according to a news release. Such a…
Novartis restarts production of radioligand therapy
Novartis announced recently that it has restarted radioligand therapy (RLT) production at two different sites. Basel, Switzerland-based Novartis on June 30 said that it restarted production in “early June” at its Ivrea, Italy, and Millburn, New Jersey, sites, according to a news release. The company had halted production in May due to what it cited…
Novartis mulls sale of $25 billion Sandoz generics arm
On the heels of announcing a restructuring plan that would do away with approximately 8,000 positions, Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) is reportedly considering spinning off its Sandoz generics arm. The company is likely to make a final decision by the end of the year, according to Bloomberg. Given the sluggish state of the economy, Novartis is likely…
Novartis temporarily halts production of two radioligand therapy medicines
Novartis (NYSE:NVS) announced that it had voluntarily stopped the production at radioligand therapy plants in Ivrea, Italy and Millburn, New Jersey, over possible quality concerns. In a statement, the company explained it had made the decision “out of an abundance of caution due to potential quality issues identified in its manufacturing processes.” As a result,…
FDA approves Novartis’ Vijoice for to treat rare PROS genetic diseases
Novartis announced that it received FDA approval for its Vijoice (alpelisib) PIK3CA-Related Overgrowth Spectrum (PROS) treatment. Basel, Switzerland-based Novartis said in a news release that Vijoice is the first FDA-approved treatment for PROS, a spectrum of rare conditions characterized by overgrowth in blood vessel anomalies. FDA approval followed real-world evidence from the EPIK-P1 retrospective chart…
Novartis’ Sandoz, Ares Genetics seek better antibiotics deployment
Sandoz, a Novartis division, announced today that it extended and expanded a strategic collaboration agreement with Ares Genetics. Basel, Switzerland-baed Sandoz’s collaboration with Ares, aimed at driving innovation to develop solutions in the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR), was extended through January 31, 2025. According to a news release, the companies agreed to an extension…