Novartis Buys IFM Due in Potential $835M Deal, Gains Access to Antagonist Program
13 Mar 2024
AcquisitionLicense out/inImmunotherapyClinical Study
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 inhibitorsSTING 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.
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