Deals
Novartis Buys Rights to Experimental MS Drug for $1 Billion
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Novartis AG agreed to buy the rights to an experimental multiple sclerosis drug from GlaxoSmithKline Plc for as much as $1 billion as it races to catch up with a competing treatment being developed by Roche Holding AG.
Novartis will pay $300 million upfront to Glaxo for ofatumumab, followed by another $200 million after the start of late-stage clinical trials, the Basel, Switzerland-based company said in a statement on Friday. Novartis may pay as much as $534 million more if certain goals are met during the drug’s development.