HQ Team
February 11, 2025: Novartis AG, one of the world’s top 10 pharmaceutical companies in terms of revenue, will acquire US-based Anthos Therapeutics Inc. for $3.1 billion to expand its cardiovascular pipeline.
Novartis will make an upfront payment of $925 million upon closing of the transaction and potential additional payments of up to $2.15 billion upon achievement of specified regulatory and sales milestones, according to a Novartis statement.
The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2025.
Anthos Therapeutics is majority-owned by Blackstone Life Sciences and was founded along with Novartis in 2019. Asset manager Blackstone currently has $12 billion in assets under management.
Atrial fibrillation
It develops, manufactures and commercialises abelacimab, a late-stage medicine in development for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation, under a license from Novartis.
Abelacimab is a therapeutic strategy that aims to prevent blood clots (thromboembolism) without significantly increasing the risk of bleeding.
Data from mid-stage trials showed a “significant reduction” in bleeding events in patients taking abelacimab versus a standard of care direct-oral anticoagulant in patients with atrial fibrillation, according to the statement.
In the Phase II study abelacimab compared with rivaroxaban (Xarelto) demonstrated a 62% reduction in major bleeding or clinically relevant non-major bleeding, a 67% reduction in major bleeding, and an 89% reduction in gastrointestinal bleeding, according to a Blackstone statement.
Anticoagulant drugs
Three end-stage clinical trials are ongoing for patients at risk of arterial and venous clots — one in patients with atrial fibrillation and two in cancer-associated thrombosis.
Current anticoagulant drugs, while effective in preventing or treating thromboembolism, often increase the risk of bleeding.
Novartis will advance the development of abelacimab, “a potential first-in-class treatment and safer approach for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation as well as cancer-associated thrombosis,” said Shreeram Aradhye, M.D., President, Development and Chief Medical Officer, Novartis.
In July 2022, abelacimab received a Fast Track Designation from the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of thrombosis associated with cancer. In September 2022, abelacimab was also granted a Fast Track Designation for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation.
‘Right time’
“Abelacimab is a potential first-in-class medicine, which promises to be an effective and safer approach to preventing thrombosis and stroke than the current standards of care,” said David Soergel, M.D., Global Head, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism Development Unit, Novartis.
“Now is the right time to bring abelacimab back into the Novartis CRM pipeline,” a system that tracks potential customers as they move through the sales process, he said.
Novartis posted year-on-year revenue of $50.3 billion in 2024. The company is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland.
