Novartis has agreed to acquire UK-based Myricx Bio for up to USD 1.5 billion, adding a preclinical N-myristoyltransferase inhibitor (NMTi) payload platform designed to address resistance and tolerability limitations that constrain the current generation of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). The acquisition gives Switzerland-based Novartis global rights to two lead ADC assets and a broader payload chemistry platform with potential application across multiple solid tumour types.
Under the deal terms, Novartis will pay USD 1.1 billion in cash upfront, with up to USD 400 million in potential milestone payments. The transaction is structured as a full company acquisition, with no geographic carve-outs disclosed, and is expected to close in H2 2026 subject to customary regulatory approvals. No royalty terms or contingent value rights were referenced in the source material.
Myricx Bio, spun out from Imperial College London and the Francis Crick Institute, has built a preclinical pipeline of proprietary NMTi-ADCs with lead assets directed at B7-H3 and HER2 — two clinically validated solid tumour antigens. The scientific rationale centres on N-myristoyltransferase, an enzyme that lipid-modifies multiple proteins required for cancer cell survival. Preclinical data reported by the company suggest NMTi payloads drive complete tumour regression in models refractory to topoisomerase I inhibitor-based ADCs, with a differentiated tolerability profile attributed to the orthogonal mechanism of action. Critically, because NMTi represents a distinct payload class from the TOPO-1 and tubulin inhibitors that dominate the current ADC landscape, the platform is positioned to address acquired resistance that develops following sequential ADC therapy — a setting where objective response rates have been reported to fall by more than 50%. Myricx previouslty raised GBP 90 million (USD 114 million) in a Series A financing in mid-2024, co-led by Novo Holdings and Abingworth, with participation from British Business Bank, Cancer Research Horizons, and Eli Lilly.
The deal is the latest in a sequence of large-scale acquisitions of preclinical ADC payload platform companies by major pharmaceutical groups. Gilead Sciences acquired Germany-based Tubulis for up to USD 5 billion — a structurally comparable transaction in which a large-cap acquirer paid a substantial premium for a differentiated ADC chemistry platform at the preclinical-to-early-clinical stage. Eli Lilly, itself a Series A investor in Myricx Bio, separately acquired CrossBridge Bio for up to USD 300 million to secure a dual-payload ADC platform, underscoring the industry-wide strategic priority of moving beyond standard TOPO-1 and tubulin inhibitor payloads before resistance patterns become entrenched across the broader patient population.