Novartis Writes Down $1.9 Billion of Its Roughly $12 Billion Avidity Deal After del-desiran Miss
- Novartis will take a $1.9 billion impairment on del-desiran, the lead asset from its roughly $12 billion Avidity Biosciences acquisition, after the drug failed a late-stage trial.
- The company still hopes for approval and expects to need one more Phase 3 study.
- The charge is a partial write-down: the asset stays on the books, so more could follow if later results disappoint.
💡 Points Based on public reports
The write-down is small against the price paid, and keeping the drug alive protects the thesis that antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates can reach muscle. But a second Phase 3 means delay and cash, and it raises the cost of the deal for a company that has bought neuromuscular bets before. Watch whether the rest of Avidity's pipeline carries the valuation.
Lilly shuffles business structure; Novartis writes off part of Avidity deal ↗