Deals
Novartis Wager on AveXis Shows Rare Diseases Command Mega Prices
- Treatments for needed therapies poised to command high prices
- Takeda, J&J, Sanofi have bought or shown interest in field
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Novartis AG’s $8.7 billion acquisition of AveXis Inc. is Big Pharma’s latest bet that rare-disease treatments are worth the money.
Novartis will get an experimental drug for a rare, often-fatal disease in children at time when competition is picking up to get therapies for uncommon illnesses: Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. is pursuing Shire Plc in a deal that could approach $50 billion, Sanofi agreed in January to a 64 percent premium in its $11.6 billion deal for Bioverativ Inc. and Johnson & Johnson outmaneuvered Sanofi to rope in Actelion last year for $30 billion.