Novartis is selling off its molecular imaging business for positron emission tomography (PET) scans to Siemens Healthineers for an undisclosed amount, both companies confirmed to Endpoints News on Tuesday.
The deal comes with the Novartis network’s workforce, product portfolio and relationships with radioligand imaging developers. Siemens’ purchase will allow PETNET Solutions, its PET radiopharmaceuticals business, to expand in the European market. According to Siemens, it’s the largest supplier of PET radiopharmaceuticals in the world.
The Financial Times first reported the sale of the manufacturing and distribution network of Advanced Accelerator Applications Molecular Imaging to Siemens for more than €200 million (about $223 million), though the companies would not confirm the exact number.
“The number of patients suffering from cancer and neurodegeneration is rising rapidly as life expectancies increase,” Jim Williams, head of molecular imaging at Siemens Healthineers, wrote in a statement. “At the same time, the radiopharmaceutical market is at an inflection point thanks in large part to innovation in the pharmaceutical sector, with PET serving as a gateway to patient eligibility for many of these new therapies.”
In Europe, PETNET currently operates in the UK and Paris, while this deal will add 14 manufacturing sites across France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany and Switzerland. As part of the deal, Siemens will continue to be a partner for Novartis’ radioligand therapy business.
A Siemens representative said that buying Advanced Accelerator Applications Molecular Imaging will allow the company to “gain relevance” in cancers like prostate cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.
Novartis first acquired Advanced Accelerator Applications in 2017 for $3.9 billion. A Novartis representative said that the move to sell off the diagnostics arm “follows a strategic assessment that concluded the growth of the molecular imaging business would be best supported under the ownership of a dedicated diagnostics shareholder.”
The representative added that selling off the piece of the business would mean that Novartis can “continue focusing its own efforts and capabilities as a pure-play innovative medicines company, aiming to reimagine cancer care with radioligand therapy.”