Novartis AG agreed to acquire British biotech Myricx Bio for up to $1.5 billion, marking the Swiss drugmaker's entry into the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) market. Novartis will pay $1.1 billion upfront and up to $400 million in milestones. The deal, expected to close in the second half of 2026, grants Novartis two lead ADC candidates targeting HER2 and B7-H3 proteins using a novel N-myristoyltransferase inhibitor payload mechanism to overcome drug resistance.
Novartis acquisition of Myricx Bio
- ▪Novartis AG agreed to acquire London-based biotechnology firm Myricx Bio for up to $1.5 billion
- ▪Novartis AG will pay Myricx Bio shareholders $1.1 billion upfront and up to $400 million in potential milestone payments
- ▪The acquisition of Myricx Bio by Novartis AG is expected to close in the second half of 2026
Myricx ADC pipeline
- ▪Myricx Bio received seed investment from Brandon Capital and Sofinnova Partners in 2019, with later backing from Eli Lilly and Novo Holdings
- ▪Myricx Bio was spun out of Imperial College London and the Francis Crick Institute with support from Cancer Research UK
- ▪Myricx Bio is developing two lead antibody-drug conjugate candidates that target tumors positive for HER2 and B7-H3 proteins
NMTi enzyme inhibitor mechanism
- ▪The N-myristoyltransferase inhibitor payload is designed to deliver potent treatments directly to tumor cells while limiting damage to healthy cells
- ▪Myricx Bio's platform utilizes a next-generation inhibitor of the enzyme N-myristoyltransferase to disrupt cancer cell growth and address drug resistance
ADC market competition
- ▪AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo's Enhertu has become a top-selling antibody-drug conjugate in the oncology market
- ▪Antibody-drug conjugates have grown in popularity as precision chemotherapies, with companies like Eli Lilly, AbbVie, and Merck & Co. seeking to expand their use
Novartis oncology strategy
- ▪Novartis AG has previously focused its oncology platform expansion on radiopharmaceuticals, marketing products such as Lutathera and Pluvicto
- ▪The acquisition of Myricx Bio marks the first entry of Novartis AG into the development of antibody-drug conjugates
Story comments
Loading comments…