Novartis to Spend $70 Million More on R&D Each Month for Avidity

Novartis AG will spend as much as $70 million each month on research and development to advance Avidity Biosciences’s pipeline as it bets on the next-generation drug delivery platform acquired last quarter.

The transaction, Novartis’ largest in more than a decade, brings three therapies for genetic disorders in late-stage studies, typically the most expensive phase of clinical development.