Novartis to pump up cardio business with Ionis deal worth Rs 15 crore

ZURICH: Novartis will pay $150 million to Ionis Pharmaceuticals to license an RNA-targeting cardiovascular drug as the Swiss company aims to bolster its range of heart disease treatments that now includes the blockbuster Entresto.

Novartis will do a Phase 3 trial of TQJ230, also known as AKCEA-APO(a)-LRx, against an inherited form of cardiovascular disease where people have elevated levels of so-called lipoprotein (a) that cannot effectively be cut via diet and lifestyle changes and plays a role in the narrowing of the arteries, heart attacks, thrombosis and stroke.

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Novartis’s cardiovascular disease franchise suffered after patent expirations in 2012 on blockbusters such as Diovan opened the field to cheaper rivals.

With its three-year-old heart-failure drug Entresto topping $1 billion in sales in 2018, the company is hoping TQJ230 will eventually help augment a heart-disease portfolio that is growing again.

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Novartis chief drug developer John Tsai said if all went well he would have approvals and be able to start selling TQJ230 by around 2024.

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