Novartis is discontinuing a neurodegeneration alliance with BioArctic in which the companies aimed to develop a drug candidate that could cross the blood-brain barrier.
Novartis is icing out BioArctic, abandoning a neurodegeneration pact that could have been worth more than $772 biobucks for the Swedish biotech.
Just last year, Novartis paid $30 million cash to join forces with BioArctic and secure a licensing option to a potential drug candidate generated from the alliance. The deal centered around the biotech’s BrainTransporter technology, which is designed to help drugs cross the blood-brain barrier. The two companies were aiming to develop a new treatment for a neurodegenerative condition combining BioArctic’s technology with a proprietary Novartis antibody.
Now, the Big Pharma has terminated the entire agreement after discontinuing the program, according to a release from BioArctic. The biotech said the decision was unrelated to its BrainTransporter technology, which uses transferrin receptors in hopes of shuttling drugs across the brain.
BioSpace has reached out to Novartis for more information on the termination.
BioArctic’s science has attracted attention beyond Novartis, drawing in partners including Eisai, Bristol Myers Squibb and, most recently, Eli Lilly. In June, the obesity-focused pharma paid $30 million upfront and is offering up to $770 million to combine the BrainTransporter tech with its own undisclosed neurodegeneration candidate.
BioArctic is the original home of Leqembi, the Eisai-Biogen amyloid antibody that secured a 2023 approval in Alzheimer’s disease. BioArctic licensed the drug to Eisai in 2007 while maintaining rights to co-commercialize the drug in the Nordic region. Eisai later partnered with Biogen to bring the drug to market.
