Max Nisen, Columnist

A $5 Billion Cholesterol Bet May Be an Overreach

Novartis and other suitors eyeing Medicines Co. risk overpaying for the drugmaker’s twice-a-year treatment.

November 19, 2019 at 4:02 PM UTC

Max Nisen is a healthcare analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. He previously wrote for Bloomberg Opinion, Quartz and Business Insider.

A convenient treatment isn‘t a sure blockbuster.
Photographer: scyther5/iStockphoto

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Novartis AG appears ready to put a premium on convenience.

Bloomberg News reported early Tuesday that the Swiss pharmaceutical giant is conducting due diligence on Medicines Co., a New Jersey-based biotechnology company with a promising drug called inclisiran that can substantially lower so-called bad cholesterol with just two annual treatments. Its principal rivals, Amgen Inc.'s Repatha, and Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceutical Inc.’s Praluent, require biweekly or monthly injections.