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Novartis India Ltd to acquire BP drug trademarks from Pfizer Inc, for ₹1,250 crore. The development comes after private-equity firm ChrysCapital's acquisition of the entire 70.68 per cent stake in Novartis India Ltd. Updated - September 07, 2026 at 08:56 PM. Minipress XL (containing prazosin) is primarily used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure), besides managing urinary symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Photo Credit: Cecilie_Arcurs Novartis India has inked an agreement to acquire the trademarks 'Minipress' and 'Minipres' in India and certain related intellectual property rights from Pfizer Inc and Pfizer Products Inc, for ₹1,250 crore. Minipress XL (containing prazosin) is primarily used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure), besides managing urinary symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The development comes after private-equity firm ChrysCapital's acquisition of the entire 70.68 per cent stake in Novartis India Ltd (NIL), previously held by the Swiss parent company Novartis AG. The India business has a new management and will soon have a new name as well. The move is seen by industry insiders as an effort to bulk up the PE-owned India business. Novartis India operates across segments including pain management, calcium supplementation, gynaecology, neurosciences, and transplant immunology with brands including Voveran, Calcium Sandoz and Tegrital, to name a few. THIS AD SUPPORTS OUR JOURNALISM. SUBSCRIBE FOR MINIMAL ADS.

Novartis, BMS pause autoimmune CAR-T trials after safety events. Novartis suspended several autoimmune and neurology trials of rap-cel after 3 patient deaths linked to immune effector cell-associated hemophagocytic syndrome, and BMS separately paused zola-cel studies after observing inflammatory safety events. Novartis has suspended several autoimmune and neurology trials of its investigational CD19 therapy rapcabtagene autoleucel (rap-cel) after 3 patients died following serious cases of immune effector cell-associated hemophagocytic syndrome (IEC-HS).[1,2] Bristol Myers Squibb has separately paused at least some studies of its own CAR-T candidate, zolacabtagene autoleucel (zola-cel), after observing transient and reversible inflammatory events in its autoimmune development program.[1,2] A Novartis spokesperson confirmed the suspension in a statement, saying the 3 IEC-HS cases led to complications that ultimately proved fatal.[1] The pause affects the phase 2 AUTOGRAPH studies evaluating rap-cel in systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, and idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (NCT06665256), along with phase 1/2 trials in rheumatoid arthritis and Sjogren disease (NCT07048197), generalized myasthenia gravis, and certain types of multiple sclerosis.[1] Studies of rap-cel in cancer are not affected by the pause.[1] Novartis is reviewing safety data as BMS acts out of caution. Novartis said it is analyzing safety data to identify the factors that may have contributed to the fatal complications and is working with independent data monitoring committees on enhanced safety measures, including tighter patient monitoring, earlier identification of adverse events, and improved management strategies.[1] BMS, describing its decision as a step taken out of an abundance of caution, confirmed it is voluntarily pausing at least some zola-cel studies to review clinical data across the therapy's development program.[1,2] The company has ongoing zola-cel trials across several autoimmune indications, including myasthenia gravis, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis, though it remains unclear whether the pause extends to all of them.[1] No deaths have been reported in connection with zola-cel; a single prior case of IEC-HS involving the therapy was described in results published in February from a phase 1 study.[2] "The drug's safety profile remains consistent with the known profile of CAR-T therapies," a BMS spokesperson said.[2] Analysts point to rapid manufacturing as a possible contributing factor. IEC-HS is a rare but serious adverse event previously reported with CD19 and BCMA-directed CAR-T therapies across blood cancer indications.[1] In a note to investors, analysts at William Blair pointed to rapid manufacturing, a feature shared by both rap-cel and zola-cel, as a possible contributor to the safety signals.[1] "Rapid manufacturing could be driving increased cell expansion and the reported toxicities," the analysts wrote, while also noting that indication-specific factors or a patient predisposition to a hyperinflammatory state could be playing a role.[1] The analysts cautioned that it remains difficult to extrapolate this risk to other CAR-T programs in development for autoimmune disease, noting that companies including Autolus, Cabaletta Bio, CRISPR Therapeutics, Kyverna Therapeutics, and Allogene Therapeutics are also developing CD19-directed CAR-T therapies for autoimmune indications.[1] Differentiated safety profiles among these competing programs could offer an advantage if development of the Novartis and BMS therapies remains constrained, according to the analysts.[1] Frequently asked questions. * What prompted Novartis to pause rap-cel trials in autoimmune disease? Three patients died after developing serious immune effector cell-associated hemophagocytic syndrome (IEC-HS) following treatment with rap-cel; the pause does not affect ongoing cancer studies of the therapy. * Why did BMS pause zola-cel studies? BMS voluntarily paused at least some zola-cel trials after observing transient and reversible inflammatory events, describing the move as a precaution while it reviews clinical data across the program; no deaths have been reported. * What might be driving these safety signals? Analysts have pointed to rapid manufacturing, a feature shared by both CAR-T candidates, as a possible contributing factor to increased cell expansion and toxicity, though indication-specific factors or patient predisposition may also play a role.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) shares gap up - time to Buy? Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday. The stock had previously closed at $152.06, but opened at $162.15. Novartis shares last traded at $161.64, with a volume of 1,164,231 shares. Stocks & Bonds Key Novartis news. Here are the key news stories impacting Novartis this week: * Remibrutinib cleared two Phase III multiple sclerosis trials. The oral drug significantly reduced annualized relapse rates versus teriflunomide (Aubagio) in relapsing multiple sclerosis and also showed favorable results on MRI lesion measures. Novartis said a combined analysis indicated a clinically meaningful delay in disability progression, strengthening the drug's potential commercial profile and supporting plans for global regulatory submissions. * The positive MS data are viewed as an important growth catalyst. Analysts and investors see remibrutinib as a potential future blockbuster in a large market, particularly because it outperformed an established treatment and reportedly showed no liver-safety signal. The results prompted a sharp prior-session rally and could improve confidence in Novartis' longer-term product pipeline. * Novartis signed a potential $3.2 billion Hybrozyme agreement with Alteogen. The deal could expand access to Alteogen's drug-delivery technology and support development or commercialization of future medicines, though the financial commitment and deal milestones may limit the near-term earnings benefit. * Novartis plans to relocate laboratory activities and shut down some Basel production operations, potentially affecting about 130 jobs. The restructuring may improve efficiency over time but creates near-term execution and employee-transition costs. * Novartis paused eight autoimmune and neurological cell-therapy trials after three patient deaths. The pauses raise safety, regulatory and development risks for the experimental rap-cel program and prompted a customer-related setback for Oxford BioMedica, though the issue is separate from remibrutinib. Wall street analyst weigh in. Several research analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.20. Discover more Exchange Traded Funds Novartis stock performance. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $155.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $309.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.45. Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter. Novartis had a return on equity of 38.56% and a net margin of 23.29%.The firm had revenue of $14.95 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Institutional trading of Novartis. Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Novartis by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,876,906 shares of the company's stock worth $1,223,860,000 after acquiring an additional 1,148,033 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,465,850 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,029,317,000 after purchasing an additional 226,484 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Novartis by 9.1% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,962,794 shares of the company's stock valued at $758,067,000 after purchasing an additional 413,778 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 13,687.0% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 4,628,296 shares of the company's stock worth $638,103,000 after purchasing an additional 4,594,726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Novartis by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,479,307 shares of the company's stock worth $617,562,000 after purchasing an additional 419,988 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. About Novartis. Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide. The company's activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies. 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