Avidity Biosciences, which is developing an exon 44 skipping therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Novartis AG (“Novartis”) which has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies.
The acquisition will follow the separation of Avidity’s early-stage precision cardiology programs into SpinCo, which is expected to be a publicly traded company. SpinCo will be led by Kathleen Gallagher, currently Avidity’s chief program officer, as chief executive officer. Sarah Boyce, currently Avidity’s chief executive officer, will serve as chair of the board.
Novartis will acquire Avidity’s programs and pipeline in neuroscience and gain access to its differentiated RNA-targeting delivery platform. The agreement includes three late-stage clinical development programs: delpacibart zotadirsen (del-zota) for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), delpacibart etedesiran (del-desiran) for the treatment of myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) and delpacibart braxlosiran (del-brax) for the treatment of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD).
Learn More: Del-Zota DMD RNA Therapy from Avidity Biosciences Reverses the Progression of Disease
