Novartis to Acquire French Advanced Accelerator Applications for $3.9B
Swiss drugmaker, Novartis, has now entered a memorandum of understanding with Advanced Accelerator Applications (AAA) under which it intends to commence a tender offer for 100 percent of the share capital of AAA subject to certain conditions.
The Swiss pharma giant has agreed to shell out $3.9 billion, or $41 per share, for AAA, whose current products are radioactive tracers used in diagnostic scans. That in itself fits into Novartis’ burgeoning cancer business.
Novartis would gain Lutathera (177-Lu-Dotatate), a radiolabeled somatostatin analog that targets somatostatin receptors, and its companion diagnostics SomaKit TOC edotreotide and Netspot. AAA’s flagship product, Lutathera, won European Union backing in late September for use against gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, the kind of cancer that killed Apple founder Steve Jobs.
Novartis is also counting on new drug launches in other disease areas to offset Gleevec’s decline. The two most important of these are Cosentyx for psoriasis and certain rheumatoid conditions and Entresto for heart failure.
Bruno Strigini, head of Novartis Oncology, said the acquisition would allow the company to expand the global reach of Lutathera. Novartis already sells a drug called Afinitor that treats a range of cancers including neuroendocrine tumors.
Mr. Strigini also said the acquisition would allow Novartis
to build on AAA’s technology platform. AAA is in the early stages of developing radiopharmaceuticals for other types of cancer, including prostate and breast.