By Bhanvi Satija LONDON (Reuters) -Swiss drugmaker Novartis on Monday defended its $12 billion deal to acquire Avidity Biosciences ahead of the U.S. firm getting late-stage data for its muscle disorder treatment next year, saying it was "an appropriate risk to take". On an investor call, Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan said the deal size could have been "potentially twice as big" had the firm waited for the data to be released. Novartis announced the cash deal for Avidity at $72 per share on Sunday, representing a premium of 46% to the company's previous close. The drugmaker's shares slipped 1.5% on Monday, while Avidity's U.S. stock jumped more than 40%. DEAL SPREE AIMED AT BOLSTERING PIPELINE The Avidity acquisition is the second-largest biotech deal this year after Johnson & Johnson's $14.6

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