Pharmaceutical company Novartis obtains a licensing agreement valued at over $30 million from BioArctic.

In a groundbreaking development, BioArctic AB has entered into a licence option agreement with Novartis AG, potentially worth up to US$802 million. This agreement follows similar collaborations with Sironax Ltd and other pharmaceutical giants like Eisai Co., Ltd. and Bristol Myers Squibb.

The focus of this collaboration is BioArctic's BrainTransporter platform, a revolutionary technology that enables the transport of various modalities, including antibody constructs, across the blood-brain barrier. This technology, developed through research collaborations with Eisai and Bristol Myers Squibb, is not related to the agreement with Novartis.

Novartis will pay €30 million upfront to BioArctic to test its BrainTransporter platform. If they exercise the licence option following initial tests, BioArctic would be entitled to additional payments of up to US$772 million. Post-market authorisation, BioArctic would receive mid-single-digit royalties on future global product sales.

Effectively delivering therapeutics across the blood-brain barrier is a significant challenge in drug discovery, according to Robert Baloh, M.D., Ph.D., Global Head of Neuroscience for Novartis' Biomedical Research Institute. The BrainTransporter technology, which delivers antibodies into the brain via the transferrin transporter, offers a promising solution to this challenge.

The potential application of this collaboration in neurodegeneration is notable, although the specific molecule and target for this collaboration have not been disclosed. Only one publicly known preclinical antibody at Novartis fits the description for this collaboration.

IMP701, an anti-LAG-3 monoclonal antibody currently in preclinical development, originally licensed from Immutep, is not mentioned in the agreement with Sironax Ltd. However, the interplay between LAG-3 pathways and neuroinflammatory processes relevant to neurodegeneration suggests that IMP701 may have a role to play in future collaborations.

Similar to Sironax's BDM platform, BioArctic's BrainTransporter technology can facilitate the transport of antisense oligos, peptides, enzymes, and other modalities across the blood-brain barrier. This versatility makes the BrainTransporter technology a valuable asset in the ongoing fight against neurodegenerative diseases.

In the agreement with Sironax Ltd, up to US$175 million was disclosed for technology access (upfront) and near-term payments. The exact terms of this agreement are different from the one with Novartis, underscoring the unique value of BioArctic's BrainTransporter technology.

This collaboration between BioArctic and Novartis marks an exciting step forward in the quest to develop effective treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. The ability to transport various therapeutic modalities across the blood-brain barrier could revolutionise drug discovery and pave the way for a brighter future for those affected by these debilitating conditions.

Pharmaceutical company Novartis obtains a licensing agreement valued at over $30 million from BioArctic.