Chinook Therapeutics Acquired by Novartis AG

Chinook Therapeutics, Inc. announced on June 12, 2023 that it has entered into an agreement and a merger plan with Novartis AG where Novartis will acquire Chinook for $40 per share in cash, for a total of $3.2 billion. Additionally, Chinook shareholders will receive contingent value rights providing for payment of up to $4 per share upon the achievement of certain future regulatory milestones, according to the company press release.

“We are pleased that Novartis recognizes the significant value that the Chinook team has built with our pipeline of clinical and preclinical programs for patients with rare, severe chronic kidney diseases,” said Eric Dobmeier, president and chief executive officer of Chinook Therapeutics, in a press release. “We believe this transaction is great news for kidney disease patients and the programs we have built at Chinook. Through this merger, Novartis can apply its substantial resources to pursue broader development efforts and commercialization of atrasentan, zigakibart (BION-1301), and other programs in our pipeline to build its global renal therapeutic area.”

The merger agreement states that Novartis will acquire all the shares of Chinook through a subsidiary for a price of $40 per share in cash at closing. Further, the completion of the transaction is expected in the second half of 2023 and is pending approval by Chinook’s stockholders and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

Source: Chinook Therapeutics