Swiss pharmaceutical leader Novartis has entered into a cardiovascular drug licensing deal valued at up to $5.2 billion with China-based Argo Biopharmaceutical. The deal encompasses Argo’s early-stage drug candidates for treating cardiovascular disease, the biotechnology firm said.
Argo focuses on creating innovative therapeutics that utilize RNA interference (RNAi) technology, a mechanism that silences genes that are involved in disease progression or renders them ineffective. The agreement extends to an RNA-based therapy BW-00112 expected to begin clinical evaluation in the coming year.
Argo further announced that Novartis has indicated a non-binding interest in joining its next equity financing round. In total, the collaborative framework is worth over $9 billion in downstream milestone opportunities, not including royalties, and serves to underscore the scope of the strategic alliance between Novartis and Argo Biopharma.
The drug BW-00112 is in mid-stage development as a new potential treatment for acute hypertriglyceridemia, which leads to a very high level of fat in the blood and increases the risk of cardiovascular risks such as heart attack and stroke. In the wider field of RNAi therapeutics, Alnylam’s vutrisiran, marketed as Amvuttra, has already received U.S. approval for treating transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy, a rare but serious heart disorder.
Argo’s candidates, which are designed to “deeply and durably target disease-causing proteins, represent an important paradigm shift in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases,” stated Shaun Coughlin, Global Head of Cardiovascular and Metabolism at Novartis Biomedical Research.
Under the terms of the Novartis and Argo deal, Argo will receive an upfront payment of $160 million, with the potential to earn up to $5.2 billion in milestone payments and royalties tied to future sales. Novartis will also gain options to license two discovery-stage drug candidates, one focused on severe hypertriglyceridemia and another targeting mixed dyslipidemia. Furthermore, the deal extends to an RNA therapy that is set to start clinical testing next year.
Argo also revealed that Novartis has shown a non-binding interest in joining its subsequent equity financing round. Collectively, the collaboration structure presents over $9 billion worth of downstream milestone potential, excluding royalties.
