Jan 8 (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Novartis (NOVN.S) is in the lead to acquire Cytokinetics (CYTK.O) for a deal that could value the drug developer at well over $10 billion, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Novartis is poised to prevail in the auction for Cytokinetics, ahead of other bidders that include AstraZeneca (AZN.L) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), according to the source.

A deal could be announced as early as this week, the source said, helping Novartis gain access to Cytokinetics' experimental treatment, aficamten, for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), an inherited chronic heart disease that can cause cardiac arrest.

Spokespersons for Cytokinetics and Novartis said the companies do not comment on M&A speculation.

Shares of Cytokinetics rose over 16% on Monday after the Wall Street Journal first reported on Novartis' lead.

In late December, Cytokinetics' shares jumped over 82% after aficamten met the main goal of a keenly awaited late-stage study, putting it on track to compete with a rival treatment from Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY.N).

Shares of Cytokinetics with a market capitalization of over $9 billion, as of Friday's closing price, have more than tripled in value since Oct 31, when reports of the company attracting takeover interests first surfaced.

HCM is the most common inherited cardiovascular disorder, with about 280,000 patients in the U.S. currently, including two-thirds with obstructive HCM and the rest with non-obstructive HCM, the company estimates.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/novartis-advanced-talks-buy-cytokinetics-wsj-2024-01-08/