Novartis, a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company, completed the acquisition of AveXis, a clinical-stage gene therapy company, for $8.7bn. This offer represented a premium of 88% to AveXis’ closing price on April 6, 2018. “The commitment, drive and expertise of the entire AveXis team has created significant stockholder value, and we are pleased that Novartis recognizes that value in the potential of AVXS-101, our first in class manufacturing capabilities and our gene therapy pipeline, all of which serve to transform the lives of people devastated by rare and life threatening neurological diseases such as SMA, Rett syndrome and genetic ALS,” Sean Nolan, President and Chief Executive Officer of AveXis.