STING inhibitors(Zhongmeihuadong Pharmaceutical)

Novartis has pulled the trigger on a multi-million-dollar deal, exercising its option to reel in another subsidiary of IFM Therapeutics focused on developing small-molecule STING antagonists.The acquisition announced Wednesday is the culmination of a collaboration between the two companies that began in 2019 when the Swiss drugmaker acquired IFM Therapeutics' IFM Tre unit and its portfolio of experimental drugs targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome for $310 million upfront. That deal also includes potential milestone payments worth nearly $1.3 billion.Meanwhile, Novartis also had its eye on the company's IFM Due subsidiary – the centrepiece of Wednesday's transaction – with a view to developing immunotherapies that inhibit the cGAS/STING pathway to treat inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Novartis gained the option to acquire IFM Due in return for covering R&D costs for the cGAS-STING programme.Another +$800M in milestonesNow that Novartis has exercised the option, which triggered an upfront payment of $90 million, IFM Therapeutics is eligible for up to $745 million in additional milestones. The company previously offloaded its STING agonist programme to Bristol Myers Squibb as part of a wider collaboration potentially worth up to $2.3 billion.The cGAS-STING pathway operates in the innate immune system, detecting cytosolic DNA as a signal of cellular danger and triggering an inflammatory response; its dysregulation is thought to be behind a variety of serious inflammation-driven diseases."We have been steadfast in our belief that selectively targeting STING to block the cGAS-STING pathway has the potential to deliver a powerful therapeutic option for patients with serious chronic illnesses," said H. Martin Seidel, chief executive at IFM Therapeutics.A previous foray by Novartis in the oncology space ended in defeat back in 2019 when the drugmaker axed an experimental STING pathway activator developed by Aduro Biotech from its portfolio.Meanwhile, other companies are exploring STING inhibitors as a means to control innate immunity and inflammation. In 2022, BioNTech signed a research and licensing deal centred on Ryvu Therapeutics' STING agonists to potentially boost the efficacy of cancer immunotherapies. That was followed shortly after with Merck KGaA teaming up with Mersana Therapeutics on immunostimulatory antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) using the latter's STING-agonist ADC platform.

Pictured: Novartis' office in Germany/iStock, TBE Novartis is acquiring IFM Due, a subsidiary of privately held IFM Therapeutics, with the biotech getting $90 million in an upfront payment and remaining eligible for up to $745 million in milestone payments, the companies announced Wednesday. This is not the first deal between the companies. In September 2019, IFM forged an option and collaboration deal with Novartis, which saw the Swiss pharma make fixed payments to finance R&D costs for the program in exchange for the option to acquire the company. Under Wednesday’s acquisition, Novartis now has the full rights to IFM Due’s portfolio of STING antagonists, which can potentially treat inflammation-driven diseases “characterized by excessive interferon” and other pro-inflammatory cytokine signaling, according to the announcement. “The acquisition of IFM Due represents the culmination of a highly productive, four-year preclinical collaboration between Novartis and IFM to develop novel small-molecule STING inhibitors with the potential to treat a spectrum of inflammatory diseases,” Richard Siegel, global head of immunology research at Novartis, said in a statement. “We are excited to advance IFM Due’s STING program and leverage our deep expertise in inflammation science to bring forward transformative medicines that address major unmet patient needs.” Other deals between Novartis and IFM have also been made. In April 2019, the Swiss pharma acquired subsidiary IFM Tre, paying $310 million upfront and another $1.26 billion in various milestones. That deal was focused on developing NLRP3 antagonists for treating inflammatory diseases. Novartis has made other acquisition and licensing moves this year. In February 2024, it bought German biotech MorphoSys for around $2.9 billion, expanding its oncology offerings. In January 2024, Novartis entered a strategic collaboration and licensing deal with Voyager Therapeutics, paying $100 million upfront and $1.2 billion in potential milestones. The deal will see the development of gene therapies for Huntington’s disease and spinal muscular atrophy. Tyler Patchen is a staff writer at BioSpace. You can reach him at tyler.patchen@biospace.com. Follow him on LinkedIn.