Just a year after spinning out from Scorpion Therapeutics, Antares Therapeutics has secured a big pharma partner to help advance its pipeline of undruggable oncology targeting therapies.<\/p>\n
Novartis has outlaid up to $1.9bn to collaborate with Antares Therapeutics, with the two companies working together to discover, develop, and commercialise small molecule therapies for cancers.<\/p>\n
As per the deal, Novartis will pay $105m upfront, along with up to $1.8bn in additional payments across programmes. The latter includes exercise, development, regulatory, and commercial milestones, as well as royalties for the US biotech.<\/p>\n
Antares will lead all research and apply its drug discovery engine to a \u201climited\u201d number of undisclosed oncology targets until Novartis decides to license the asset in question.<\/p>\n
Antares spun out from Scorpion Therapeutics in June 2025. At the time, it was siphoned off with three preclinical candidates and $177m in Series A funding. Scorpion itself had already secured a large exit in January 2025, after Eli Lilly spent up to $2.5bn to buy the biotech\u2019s PI3K\u03b1 pipeline.<\/p>\n
Antares\u2019 lead precision oncology programme is expected to enter the clinic in 2026, with multiple additional programmes in preclinical development.<\/p>\n
According to Antares, it tackles undruggable targets by using a combination of proprietary compound libraries, a next-generation mass spectrometry experimental and computational platform, and innovative pocket-finding approaches.<\/p>\n
Adam Friedman, CEO of Antares, said: \u201cFrom the outset, our goal has been to build a discovery engine that systematically unlocks high-value, challenging targets and delivers first-in-class precision medicines. This collaboration lets us scale that engine alongside Novartis\u2019 world-class development capabilities and global reach, so we can translate our science into transformative therapies for patients faster than either of us could alone. It builds on the work of a team that has consistently produced highly selective medicines against some of the hardest targets in drug discovery.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fiona Marshall, president of biomedical research at Novartis, commented: \u201cMany of the most compelling targets today in oncology have historically been considered undruggable. We believe this collaboration has the potential to unlock a new wave of targeted therapies and bring meaningful advances to patients.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oncology sales for Novartis grew 18% to $16.8bn in 2025<\/a>, cementing its status as the big pharma company\u2019s largest therapeutic segment. Breast cancer drug Kisqali (ribociclib) is Novartis\u2019 top-performing oncology product, generating $4.8bn in global revenue in 2025.<\/p>\n Novartis has been amongst the quieter dealmaking pharma companies so far in 2026, with transactions smaller in size compared to rivals. The Swiss drugmaker spent up to $3bn<\/a> to buy a portfolio of pan-mutant\u2011selective PI3K\u03b1 inhibitors from Synnovation Therapeutics in March 2026, then outlaid $2bn to acquire allergy specialist Excellergy<\/a> in May.<\/p>\n US pharma and life sciences deal value in Q1 2026 surpassed $65bn, marking the strongest quarter since pandemic-related highs in 2020. The two largest deals in pharma came in Q2 \u2013 Sun Pharma\u2019s $11.75bn takeover of Organon<\/a> and GSK\u2019s $10.6bn acquisition of cancer specialist Nuvalent<\/a> in April and June, respectively.<\/p>\n