Novartis Acquires Cancer Drug Startup Myricx Bio for $1.1 Billion Upfront to Enter Next-Gen ADC Market

Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis has agreed to acquire London-based biotech startup Myricx Bio for $1.1 billion upfront, securing a novel platform for next-generation cancer therapies.

The transaction, which includes up to $400 million in additional milestone payments, brings the total potential deal value to $1.5 billion. The acquisition marks a major exit for the UK life sciences sector and signals a strategic leap for Novartis into the rapidly expanding antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) market.

Antibody-drug conjugates operate as biological guided missiles. They combine a targeting antibody, which seeks out specific proteins on the surface of cancer cells, with a highly toxic chemical payload. This allows oncologists to deliver potent chemotherapy directly to tumors while largely sparing healthy surrounding tissue.[1]

While ADCs have revolutionized precision oncology, a critical limitation has emerged: tumors frequently develop resistance to the payloads currently dominating the market, such as TOPO-1 and tubulin inhibitors. When cancers adapt to survive these specific chemical attacks, objective response rates can plummet by more than 50 percent.[1]

Myricx Bio was founded to solve this exact bottleneck. Spun out of Imperial College London and the Francis Crick Institute in 2019, the startup developed an entirely new class of ADC payloads called N-myristoyltransferase inhibitors (NMTi).[2]

NMT is an enzyme that plays a crucial role in modifying proteins required for cancer cell survival and growth. By inhibiting this specific enzyme, Myricx's payloads utilize an "orthogonal" mechanism of action—meaning they attack the cancer cell through a completely different biological pathway than existing drugs.[1][2]

Preclinical data suggests that these NMTi payloads can drive complete tumor regression even in cancer models that have become entirely refractory to standard TOPO-1 inhibitor-based ADCs. This differentiated approach offers a lifeline for patients whose cancers have outsmarted first-generation targeted therapies.[1]

For Novartis, the acquisition fills a strategic gap. While the Swiss drugmaker has invested heavily in radioligand therapies—another form of targeted cancer treatment—it had largely remained on the sidelines of the recent ADC gold rush. The Myricx deal provides Novartis with an immediate, highly differentiated foothold in the space.

The buyout hands Novartis global rights to Myricx's two lead preclinical assets, which are directed at B7-H3 and HER2. These are clinically validated proteins commonly expressed across multiple solid tumor types, including breast and lung cancers.

Crucially, Novartis is acquiring the entire underlying payload chemistry platform, not just the two lead drugs. This will allow the pharmaceutical giant's biomedical research division to attach the novel NMTi warhead to a vast array of other targeting antibodies in its pipeline, potentially establishing an entirely new standard class of cancer therapeutics.

The acquisition is a testament to the rapid value creation occurring in the biotech sector. Myricx Bio raised a $114 million Series A financing round in mid-2024, co-led by Novo Holdings and Abingworth. Less than two years later, the company has secured a billion-dollar exit before even entering human clinical trials.[2]

The aggressive valuation reflects broader macroeconomic pressures in the pharmaceutical industry. Global drugmakers are facing an estimated $450 billion "patent cliff" over the next decade as exclusivity expires on blockbuster medications. To replenish their pipelines, large-cap pharma companies are deploying massive capital to acquire promising preclinical platforms.

The transaction is structured as a full company acquisition with no geographic carve-outs and is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to customary regulatory approvals. Once finalized, Myricx's assets will transition into Novartis's global clinical development engine to begin human trials.[1]