Swiss multinational pharma, Novartis, has agreed to acquire Myricx Bio, a UK-based biotech company developing a new class of ADCs, using N-myristoyltransferase inhibitor (NMTi) payloads, for up to US$1.5bn including US$1.1bn cash upfront plus potential milestone payments.<\/p>\n
\u201cADCs 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,\u201d\u00a0said Fiona Marshall<\/a>, president of Biomedical Research at Novartis. \u201cMyricx Bio has developed a promising NMTi payload platform with a differentiated mechanism that could broaden the use of ADCs across multiple tumour settings.\u201d<\/p>\n The acquisition combines Novartis\u2019 strength in oncology with Myricx Bio\u2019s two lead assets and next-generation first-in-class NMTi payload platform.<\/p>\n \u201cThere 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,\u201d said Mohit Rawat<\/a>, CEO of Myricx Bio. \u201cTogether with Novartis, we look forward to building upon our work to transform the landscape of cancer treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n Myricx, a spin out from Imperial College London and the Francis Crick Institute, was founded in 2019 by Dr\u00a0Roberto Solari, venture partner at Brandon Capital, Professor Ed Tate and Dr Andy Bell with support from Cancer Research UK. Industry veteran\u00a0Dr\u00a0Robin\u00a0Carr was recruited to lead drug development and subsequently became CEO.\u00a0<\/p>\n The exit\u00a0will generate a\u00a0significant return for investors that include Abingworth, British Business Bank, Cancer Research Horizons, Eli Lilly, and Novo Holdings. In July 2024, they contributed \u00a390m in a Series A \u2013 the largest series A for an academic biotech start-up in the UK\u00a0and among the largest series A rounds ever raised by a European biotech<\/a> alongside existing investors Brandon Capital and co-founding seed investor Sofinnova Partners. The financing enabled the company to scale its operations and expand the team to rapidly advance its pipeline.<\/p>\n