Novartis is in advanced talks to buy Cytokinesis

Novartis Close to completing the acquisition Cytokinesis and promising heart drugs, as big pharmaceutical companies continue to snap up the fast-growing biotechnology to revamp their production lines.

The Swiss drugmaker’s purchase of South San Francisco-based Cytokinetics, which has a market value of about $9 billion, could be completed as soon as this week, according to people familiar with the situation. Cytokinetics was running a sale and another suitor could emerge again; There may be no agreement at all.