Novartis nabs cardio drug with $1.4bn Tourmaline buy

Novartis has bulked up its cardiology pipeline with a $1.4 billion takeover of Tourmaline Bio and its phase 3-ready drug for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).

The Swiss pharma group has launched a $48-per-share tender offer for New York-based Tourmaline, attracted by the lustre of primary asset pacibekitug, an anti-IL-6 antibody that is being developed to suppress systemic inflammation in atherosclerosis – sometimes described as a chronic inflammatory vascular disease.

In May, Tourmaline reported top-line data from the phase 2 TRANQUILITY trial of pacibekitug, showing that it was able to achieve 85%-plus reductions in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) – a biomarker for inflammation – with subcutaneous dosing every three months. The overall incidence rates of adverse events and serious adverse events were comparable to placebo, it said.

Tourmaline claimed its data shows best-in-class potential for the drug, whose nearest competitor is Novo Nordisk's IL-6 inhibitor ziltivekimab, acquired as part of its $2.1 billion takeover of Corvidia in 2020, which is already in phase 3 testing, but requires monthly dosing.

"With no widely adopted anti-inflammatory therapies currently available for cardiovascular risk reduction, pacibekitug represents a potential breakthrough in addressing residual inflammatory risk in ASCVD with a differentiated mechanism of action targeting IL-6," said Shreeram Aradhye, Novartis' chief medical officer.

Rumours emerged last month that Novartis was on the cusp of an acquisition, although, they linked the Basel-based group to RNA therapeutic specialist Avidity Biosciences, rather than Tourmaline.

Novartis has been investing hard in deals to build its pipeline, and this year alone has already bought kidney drug specialist Regulus for up to $1.7 billion and atrial fibrillation therapy developer Anthos in a $3.1 billion transaction, fulfilling a pledge by chief executive Vas Narasimhan to keep up a steady pace in bolt-on, sub-$5 billion transactions.

Last year, the company also snapped up Kate Therapeutics for $1.1 billion, Mariana Oncology for around $1.75 billion, and MorphoSys for $2.9 billion.

Its efforts to build in the cardiovascular category come as it has started facing generic competition to heart failure therapy Entresto (sacubitril/valsartan), which brought in $7.8 billion in sales last year.

The Tourmaline deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to the usual regulatory reviews, with the company operating as an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Novartis thereafter. The offer represents a 59% premium to Tourmaline's closing share price yesterday.

"Our mission at Tourmaline has been to establish new standards of care in areas of high unmet medical need, and today's transaction announcement both underscores our commitment to that focus and also delivers compelling shareholder value," said Sandeep Kulkarni, the company's co-founder and CEO.

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