BASEL (dpa-AFX) - Tourmaline Bio Inc. (TRML), a late-stage clinical biotechnology company developing medicines for life-altering inflammatory and immune diseases, is all set to be acquired by Novartis AG (NVS) for $48.00 per share in cash, representing a total equity value of approximately $1.4 billion.
The company's lead drug candidate is Pacibekitug, being explored in the indications of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm, and thyroid eye disease. Pacibekitug was licensed from Pfizer in May 2022.
By acquiring Tourmaline, Novartis aims to further strengthen its cardiovascular disease portfolio.
Commenting on the deal, Shreeram Aradhye, President, Development and Chief Medical Officer, Novartis, said, 'With no widely adopted anti-inflammatory therapies currently available for cardiovascular risk reduction, pacibekitug represents a potential breakthrough in addressing residual inflammatory risk in ASCVD with a differentiated mechanism of action targeting IL-6.'
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025.
We first alerted readers to TRML on April 25, 2024, when it was trading at $15.35. In the months that followed, the stock picked up upward momentum, reaching a high of $29.65 on November 12, 2024, nearly doubling from our initial alert. However, the stock later pulled back, ending the year at $20.18 as it retraced some of those gains.
When we revisited TRML on March 28, 2025, the stock had corrected further, trading at $16.84. By the time of our most recent update on August 26, 2025, TRML had regained traction, climbing to $22.79.
The acquisition price of $48.00 per share for Tourmaline Bio represents a 213% return from our initial alert. Did you have TRML in your portfolio?
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