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Biogen's SMA Ambitions Run Up Against A New Deep-Pocketed Rival

 
• By Jessica Merrill

Novartis' decision to buy gene therapy developer AveXis will have a crossover impact on Biogen, an early leader in the treatment market for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) with Spinraza.

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After Novartis AG announced plans to buy the gene therapy developer AveXis Inc. April 9 for $8.7bn, some Biogen investors were left wondering if Biogen shouldn't have been the acquirer instead. Now, Biogen will likely face a deep-pocked big pharma rival in the rare disease market it has dominated since the launch of Spinraza (nusinersen) in late 2016.

Spinraza has morphed into a more pivotal product to Biogen than many investors predicted, particularly as the big biotech's multiple...

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