This morning, Novartis announced it would buy gene therapy pioneer AveXis for $8.7 billion, giving the Swiss drug giant several treatments for rare diseases that work by inserting new DNA into patients' cells. AveXis shares rose 78% to nearly match the deal price.
“We're in a journey to focus Novartis as a medicines company powered by data and digital,” chief executive Vas Narasimhan said on a conference call explaining the deal to analysts. “And already this year, we're off to a strong start to realize that goal.”
