Novartis AG is buying US biotechnology company The Medicines Co for about $9.7 billion, the Swiss drugmaker said, as it seeks to expand its portfolio of medicines against cardiovascular disease.

Novartis is paying $85 per share in cash, about a 24 per cnet premium over The Medicines Co’s closing share price of $68.55 on Friday.

The deal is expected to help shore up Novartis’ growth threatened by patent expirations and will help take on rival drugs, such as Amgen Inc’s Repatha and Sanofi’s and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc’s Praluent, which have much more frequent dosing.

Swiss drugmaker Novartis is betting on heart drug prospect inclisiran in a $9.7 billion takeover of The Medicines Co as it challenges cardiovascular medicines from Amgen Inc, Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. Novartis is paying $85 per share in cash, a 24 per cent premium over The Medicines Co’s closing price of $68.55 on Friday, to acquire the US biotechnology company’s lone drug, the cholesterol-lowering injection inclisiran.

The deal shows Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan is ready to spend billions on not just rare disease treatments, as it did in 2018 when it paid $8.7 billion for gene therapy specialist AveXis, but also for cardiovascular medicines aimed at a market with potentially millions of patients.

Inclisiran, which still must win regulators’ approval, is set to require twice-yearly injections by doctors, far less frequently than the 26-injection regimens of Amgen’s Repatha and Sanofi’s and Regeneron’s Praluent cholesterol-lowering drugs.

“We believe that will lead to less patient abandonment,” Narasimhan told investors on a call on Monday. “Payers will have confidence knowing that physician administration will ensure patient compliance.” Novartis shares were seen up 0.2 per cent, premarket indicators showed. Repatha and Praluent, which similar to inclisiran aim to inhibit PCSK9 proteins that lead to elevated levels of bad LDL cholesterol in people with heart disease, have struggled to gain traction due a demanding dosing regiment as well as objections to their price, which makers have been forced to slash to less than $6,000 annually.

Reuters