Novartis in Talks to Acquire The Medicines Company for Billions to Expand Cardiovascular Pipeline with Inclisiran

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that on November 19, 2019, local time, Novartis planned to acquire the pharmaceutical company Medicals Company and was in negotiations with Medicals Company regarding the acquisition.

Novartis is a global healthcare company headquartered in Switzerland, dedicated to providing medical solutions that meet the evolving needs of patients worldwide. The company’s mission is to discover new therapies that improve and extend people’s lives, applying its expertise in science and innovation to address the most pressing health challenges facing society.

Medicals Company, headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, focuses on delivering cost-effective innovative pharmaceuticals to the global hospital market to enhance the treatment of critically ill patients. Medicals Company markets Angiomax (bivalirudin) in the United States and other countries for patients undergoing PTCA (percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty). However, Cleviprex® (clevidipine butyrate) injectable emulsion is sold exclusively in the United States for lowering blood pressure when oral therapy is not feasible or desirable. In addition, Medicals Company has two products in late-stage development: cangrelor (an antiplatelet agent) and oritavancin (a semi-synthetic lipopeptide antibiotic).

Medicals Company is developing an injectable drug called inclisiran. According to late-stage studies, this medication can reduce cholesterol by half within 18 months and can also be used in combination with Novartis’s heart failure drug, Entresto.

At the American Heart Association (AHA) conference, Medicals Company held a press event for inclisiran and announced its research findings. Administered twice yearly, inclisiran has the potential to become a treatment option for patients with elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. The AHA stated that an application for FDA approval of inclisiran would be submitted later this year.

“The excellent results from ORION-9 are very encouraging for many patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), who require additional low-density lipoprotein cholesterol lowering to help them achieve their treatment goals,” said Mark Timney, CEO of the American Heart Association (AHA). “Inclisiran is the first potential therapy capable of durably and effectively lowering LDL-C with a twice-yearly dosing regimen, enabling healthcare professionals to better manage patients’ conditions and help them reach their targets.”