Novartis said it remains confident in its $12 billion acquisition of Avidity Biosciences even after a Phase 3 disappointment drove a $1.9 billion partial impairment charge. During an earnings call, CEO Vas Narasimhan attributed the write-down to an updated “mathematical shift of our assumption,” while pointing to evidence of clinical activity in secondary and exploratory endpoints from the HARBOR study of del-desiran in myotonic dystrophy type 1. Novartis said it plans to advance del-desiran into another pivotal program and is also evaluating paths for accelerated approval tied to Avidity’s other assets, including del-brax and del-zota. The update serves as a reminder that platform value claims can survive single-program misses, but require additional pivotal validation and time.