By Ludwig Burger and Ariane Luthi (Reuters) -Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis has agreed to acquire Anthos Therapeutics, a biopharma firm majority-owned by Blackstone's drug development unit, for up to $3.

Novartis AG has agreed to acquire Anthos Therapeutics for $925 million as the European drug giant seeks to bolster its late-stage cardiovascular pipeline.

Novartis has agreed to buy Anthos Therapeutics from private equity firm Blackstone for $3.1 billion, adding a drug in late-stage clinical testing to prevent complications in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).