Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis is close to a deal to purchase the cholesterol drugmaker Medicines Company for nearly $7 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited people familiar with the matter.



Novartis has agreed to pay $85 a share for Medicines Company in a deal that could be reached this weekend, according to The Journal.



The deal would strengthen the Swiss pharma giant's position in the market for heart treatments, The Journal reported. Novartis, which has a market value of over $200 billion, is already targeting that market with drugs such as the heart-failure treatment Entresto.



However, Entresto's early sales have not met Wall Street's expectations, according to The Journal, though prescriptions have picked up with sales jumping to $430 million in the third quarter.



Medicines closed down nearly 2% Friday at 68.55 a share. The company, which has a market cap of about $5.4 billion, is up 258% year to date.

Novartis and Medicines could not be immediately reached for comment.



Read the full story in The Wall Street Journal