Novartis has signed an agreement to purchase Myricx Bio, a UK-based biotechnology company, in a transaction valued at up to $1.5bn.
The deal includes an upfront payment of $1.1bn and up to $400m in potential milestone payments.
It is expected to close in the second half of 2026, pending customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
Myricx Bio is developing antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) that target cancer cells using N-myristoyltransferase inhibitor (NMTi) payloads.
These next-generation payloads are designed to address limitations of commonly used ADC payload classes such as topoisomerase 1 (TOPO-1) inhibitors.
The company's pipeline includes two lead candidates directed at the tumour-associated targets B7 homologue 3 (B7-H3) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), indicating potential application across various solid tumour types.
Novartis biomedical research president Fiona Marshall said: "ADCs have become an important part of cancer treatment, but there remains a clear need for new payload mechanisms to overcome resistance and expand their impact for patients.
"Myricx Bio has developed a promising NMTi payload platform with a differentiated mechanism that could broaden the use of ADCs across multiple tumour settings.
"This proposed acquisition reflects our strategy to scale innovative platforms, as we have with radioligand therapies, to deliver more durable, transformative treatments for patients."
Based on preclinical data, the NMTi payloads may display broad activity across solid tumours, including those resistant to existing therapies such as TOPO-1 inhibitors.
The agreement would enable Novartis to assist in establishing NMTi, pending clinical validation, as a new class of ADC payloads that could be used for a variety of targets and platforms.
Prior to this, the European Commission granted approval for Novartis’ Itvisma (onasemnogene abeparvovec) as a treatment for children two years and older, teenagers and adults who have 5q spinal muscular atrophy with a bi-allelic mutation in the survival motor neuron 1 gene.
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