Novartis to buy Swiss biotech

Source: Healthcare Digital

Date :11/07/2008 11:18:20

Novartis AG will buy Swiss biotechnology group Speedel for more than CHF900 million (£444 million).

The deal will give Novartis full control of Speedel’s new blood pressure drug Aliskiren and a pipeline of associated products.

Aliskiren is marketed by Novartis as Tekturna in the US and Rasilez elsewhere.

However, initial sales of the drug have not lived up to expectations.

Swiss biotech

Speedel was founded in 1998 by Alice Huxley, a former top researcher at Novartis.

The deal would give Novartis a 61.4 percent stake in the company.

The Swiss drugmaker already owns almost 10 percent of Speedel through its venture fund.

Novartis said on July 10, that it had secured agreements from Dr Huxley and four other key shareholders to buy their stakes at CHF130 a share, or a total of CHF525.4 million.

The offer is almost double Speedel’s CHF64.10 closing price on July 9, and an 80 percent premium to its average price over the past 60 days.