ECYT Endocyte, Inc. (delisted)

   By Donato Paolo Mancini 
 

Novartis AG (NOVN.EB) raised its outlook on Thursday, and announced it would acquire radiopharmaceuticals company Endocyte Inc. (ECYT) in a deal that values it at $2.1 billion, Novartis's latest effort to transform into a focused-medicines company.

Third-quarter net group sales at the Swiss pharmaceuticals heavyweight grew to $12.78 billion from $12.41 billion in the previous year. Sales in the innovative medicines division grew by 9% at constant currencies.

Novartis raised its outlook for the remainder of the year, saying it expects a net sales growth in the mid-single digit. It previously expected group net sales to grow at a low to mid-single digit rate.

Under new Chief Executive Vasant Narasimhan, who took the helm earlier this year, Novartis has been aggressively pursuing a strategy to pivot to a focused-medicines company, announcing plans to shed the Alcon eye-care unit, selling parts of its generics business and announcing layoffs. The deal with Endocyte would give it an advantage in the prostate cancer field, Novartis said, an area with significant unmet medical need.

Novartis also said radiopharmaceuticals are expected to be a key growth driver for its business.

Write to Donato Paolo Mancini at donatopaolo.mancini@dowjones.com; @donatopmancini

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 18, 2018 01:43 ET (05:43 GMT)

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