Core Viewpoint - Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis has agreed to acquire Avidity Biosciences, a biotechnology company focused on rare diseases, for $12 billion, marking its largest acquisition in over a decade [1] Group 1: Acquisition Details - Novartis will purchase Avidity at a price of $72 per share, representing a 46% premium over Avidity's closing price of approximately $49 last Friday [1] - The enterprise valuation of Avidity, which has net cash, is estimated at $11 billion [1] Group 2: Strategic Importance - CEO Vas Narasimhan indicated that two of Avidity's late-stage drug candidates have the potential to achieve peak annual sales in the billions, while a third could generate $500 million to $1 billion in peak year revenue [4] - These late-stage assets are expected to be market-ready by 2030, helping Novartis address the impending patent cliff of its key drugs [4] Group 3: Financial Impact - The acquisition is projected to increase Novartis's compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 5% to 6% for the period from 2024 to 2029, although it will dilute profitability by 1 to 2 percentage points in the coming years [4] - The transaction will not affect Novartis's earnings guidance for the current year [4] Group 4: Broader Acquisition Strategy - Novartis is actively pursuing acquisitions to mitigate the impact of patent expirations on its major drugs, having recently acquired Tourmaline Bio for $1.4 billion and Anthos Therapeutics for up to $3.1 billion [6] - The company has also entered into a collaboration agreement with Chinese firm Argo Biopharma worth up to $5.2 billion for rights to a cardiovascular drug [6]