Novartis Adds THIS $1.4B Gamble to Its Current Multi-Billion Dollar List of Unproven Drugs Crusade…

I'll take "Monetizing the Consequences of My Bad Decisions" for $500, please…

Novartis… ever heard of them? Me neither until they made headlines today for writing a $1.4B all-cash love letter to Tourmaline Bio. But alas, Tourmaline the New York biotech has one claim to fame:  pacibekitug,  Phase III–ready antibody with a name that sounds like a Pokémon but could actually be a breakthrough in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). And guess what? Novartis wants all it can get. Which is why Novartis is offering a zesty 60% premium of $48 a share. 

(Source: Giphy)

For context, Context: this is the fourth heart-related deal Novartis has signed this year. In February it dropped $3.1B on Anthos Therapeutics for an anticoagulant. In June it partnered with Flagship’s ProFound Therapeutics for up to $750M a target. Last week it cut a $5.2B milestone-laden pact with China’s Argo Biopharma. And now… Tourmaline. Some are calling it a strategy. I, on the other hand, call it a friggin’ CVS receipt. 

(Source: Biospace) 

So with that, what’s the obsession here? Inflammation. Pacibekitug blocks IL-6, which is like throwing water on the fire statins can’t touch. Phase II data showed an 85%+ drop in CRP (the marker for vascular inflammation). And unlike Novo Nordisk’s IL-6 wannabe that needs monthly injections, Tourmaline’s drug could work quarterly. Less needle, more patient compliance… and potentially a monster market if the Phase III results hold.

Naturally, investors fell head over heels for it. Tourmaline popped 58% premarket Tuesday because nothing says “get rich quick” like being the latest biotech acquired before actually proving your drug works. Meanwhile, Novartis gets to “look” like it’s outsmarting Novo and Amgen… plugging holes before its cash cows like Entresto and Leqvio get eaten alive by generics.

(Source: Giphy) 

But, but, but… like anything of this magnitude, this is still a gamble for Novartis. Especially considering the fact that the drug hasn’t cleared Phase III AND inflammation as a mechanism has humbled plenty of drugmakers before. And yet, Novartis is still stacking deals so fast it’s starting to look less like a pipeline and more like hoarding. 

In the end though, heart disease remains the #1 killer in America, and Novartis is quietly building a monopoly on “I ate like sh*t for 40 years and need science to save me” drugs. Which, given the U.S. diet, is probably the safest long-term bet you can make. Meaning, for Novartis, this could be a multibillion-dollar franchise and one helluva a bet. For Tourmaline bagholders… Well, congrats. You just got bought out at a 60% premium… try not to blow it all on GLP-1 and AI stocks. Until next time, friends…

At the time of publishing, Stocks.News does not hold positions in companies mentioned in the article.