Closely held Myricx Bio has announced that it has reached an agreement to be acquired by Novartis (NYSE: NVS) for up to $1.5 billion including $1.1 billion cash upfront plus potential milestone payments.
The acquisition advances ADC innovation by bringing together the strengths of Novartis in oncology with Myricx’s two lead ADC assets and next-generation first-in-class N-myristoyltransferase inhibitor (NMTi) payload platform, having potential impact across multiple solid tumour settings.
In a statement, Mohit Rawat, CEO of Myricx, commented, “There is a widely recognised and critical unmet need for new ADC payloads that can improve the standard of care over current payloads, overcome payload resistance, improve tolerability and offer a wider therapeutic index. We are delighted that Novartis recognises the transformative promise of our NMTi-ADC platform to deliver this next-generation of potential first-in-class, highly differentiated ADC therapeutics. This acquisition is a tremendous endorsement of the leadership of our NMTi-ADC platform, and the insights, innovation and achievements of our founders and team towards our mission of providing more effective and better tolerated therapeutic options for cancer patients. Together with Novartis, we look forward to building upon our work to transform the landscape of cancer treatment.”
Fiona Marshall, president of biomedical research at Novartis, remarked, “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.”
This acquisition should also come as welcome news for Myricx Bio’s sole NMT inhibitor competitor, closely held Pacylex. Its lead drug candidate, zelenirstat, has demonstrated the ability to eliminate leukemia and lymphoma tumors and inhibit lung and breast cancer tumors in multiple animal models, including drug-resistant patient-derived tumor models.
