Novartis Inks $1B Deal with Matchpoint Therapeutics for Inflammatory Disease Treatment

Novartis has entered into a significant partnership with preclinical biotech Matchpoint Therapeutics, potentially worth up to $1 billion, to develop oral covalent inhibitors for inflammatory diseases. This collaboration marks a major milestone for Matchpoint, representing its first publicly disclosed partnership since its inception.

Deal Structure and Financial Terms

The exclusive option and licensing agreement involves an upfront payment of $60 million from Novartis to Matchpoint, comprising cash and research funding. Should Novartis exercise its option to license the program, Matchpoint stands to receive up to $1 billion in milestone payments, along with royalties on potential future sales.

Under the terms of the deal, Matchpoint will leverage its proprietary covalent platform to conduct all research activities up to the development candidate selection stage. Following this, Novartis will have the option to exclusively license the program, gaining global rights to develop and commercialize all resulting products.

Matchpoint's Innovative Approach

Matchpoint Therapeutics, a Massachusetts-based biotech company, utilizes its Advanced Covalent Exploration (ACE) drug discovery platform to target protein molecules that have historically been challenging to address with conventional approaches. The ACE platform integrates machine learning with a library of covalent compounds and employs chemoproteomic screening to identify covalent binders, aiming to achieve more durable attachments to target proteins.

Andre Turenne, CEO and president of Matchpoint, emphasized the potential of their targeted approach, stating, "This collaboration highlights the potential of our targeted approach to covalent chemistry to unlock novel mechanisms and achieve superior pharmacology."

Novartis' Strategic Moves

This partnership with Matchpoint comes on the heels of several strategic decisions by Novartis in the inflammatory disease space. The Swiss pharmaceutical giant recently discontinued work on an investigational monoclonal antibody for hidradenitis suppurativa after the candidate failed to meet efficacy thresholds in a phase 2 study.

In a separate development, Novartis recently secured an exclusive option to acquire Sironax's blood-brain barrier-crossing technology. This deal could potentially lead to payments of up to $175 million to Sironax in upfront and near-term payments, should Novartis choose to exercise its option.