Novartis to Buy Breast Cancer Drug for as Much as $3 Billion (1)

Novartis AG agreed to buy an experimental breast cancer drug from Synnovation Therapeutics for as much as $3 billion to bolster its oncology pipeline.

The Swiss pharma company will pay the US biotech firm $2 billion upfront and as much as $1 billion in milestone payments for its Pikavation Therapeutics business, which is developing the potential treatment, according to a statement Friday.

The acquisition — expected to be closed in the first half of this year subject to regulatory approvals — furthers Chief Executive Officer Vas Narasimhan’s drive to expand Novartis’ oncology portfolio with precision therapies.

Novartis’s current treatment ...