Novartis acquires British start-up Myricx Bio

Myricx Bio was founded in 2019 as a spin-off from Imperial College London and the Francis Crick Institute. Keystone-SDA

Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis has agreed to pay an initial sum of $1.1 billion (CHF883 million) to acquire the British start-up Myricx Bio, which is developing antibody-drug conjugates for various types of solid tumours.

The agreement also provides for a further payment of up to CHF400 million, subject to the achievement of predefined milestones, the two companies said in separate statements on Monday.

Founded in 2019 as a spin-off from Imperial College London and the Francis Crick Institute, Myricx Bio is developing two antibody-drug conjugates, still at the preclinical stage, to treat various types of solid tumours. These experimental inhibitors target the enzyme N-myristoyltransferase (NMT), which is essential for the survival and proliferation of cancer cells.

The company had raised £90 million in 2024 from investors including Novo Holdings, Abingworth, the British Business Bank, Cancer Research Horizons and Eli Lilly.

This acquisition is part of Novartis’ stated aim, since the start of the year, to diversify its technologies in the field of oncology through acquisitions, according to Urban Fritsche of the Zurich Cantonal Bank (ZKB). Recalling the spring takeover of Pikavation Therapeutics, a subsidiary of Delaware-based Synnovation Therapeutics, the analyst anticipates further deals of this kind over the coming quarters.

At Vontobel, Stefan Schneider is surprised that Novartis has set its sights on assets at such an early stage of development, and for such a substantial sum at that. The expert acknowledges, however, that he has very little information on which to base an opinion.

At 10am Monday, Novartis shares were trading around the break-even point at CHF127.96, whilst the SMI index was up 0.05%.

Translated from French/sub-editing gw