Novartis and UK-based Relation
Novartis and UK-based Relation forge R&D deal worth up to $1.7bn
This discovery deal falls under Novartis’ wider ploy to strengthen its immunology portfolio.
Novartis has teamed up with AI-led biotech Relation Therapeutics in a deal worth up to approximately $1.7bn to discover and develop novel targets for atopic diseases. Through the agreement, the Swiss big pharma company will hand over $55m in upfront, equity investment and R&D funding payments for the global development and commercialisation rights to any resulting targets created through this partnership.
Alongside this upfront payment, Relation will be eligible to receive up to $1.7bn in milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties on net sales of any products that make it to market. In exchange for Novartis’ financial input, Relation will harness its AI-powered drug discovery platform, Lab-in-the-Loop, which processes multi-omic, patient-derived data to identify and validate first-in-class targets.
Though neither party involved in this deal has specified the exact indications that will be targeted with the new therapeutics, , some diseases with large markets in the atopic category include asthma, allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis.
Another aspect of Novartis and Relation’s collaboration will centre around observational studies, which will facilitate the generation of functional cell atlases. This will help characterise the molecular pathways in operation within diseased tissue, as opposed to healthy tissue.
According to Relation, the use of functional cell atlases can help to de-risk the development process, as they facilitate effective target validation before a candidate enters the clinic.
Novartis is not the only big pharma company to sign a deal with Relation, with GSK also partnering with the biotech in December 2024. This latter agreement, which was worth $45m upfront, is targeting fibrotic diseases and osteoarthritis. To further support its drug discovery activity, Relation secured $26m in venture financing from NVIDIA’s NVentures, as well as DCVC and Magnetic Ventures, announced concurrently with the Novartis deal.
Novartis homes in on immunology
Already armed with successful immunology products Cosentyx (secukinumab) and Fabhalta (iptacopan), Novartis has been doubling down in the sector via recent deals. This is evidenced by the drugmaker’s option agreement with Monte Rosa Therapeutics, which will see Novartis hand over $5.7bn in exchange for the option to license two programmes from the biotech’s preclinical immunology portfolio.
In 2024, Novartis also decided to exercise its exclusive option to acquire IFM Due, meaning the company claimed IFM’s range of STING inhibitors. These therapies are currently in development to address a range of serious inflammation-driven diseases.
In another push to bolster its immunology portfolio, Novartis acquired Calpyso Biotech for $425m, which saw Novartis scoop up the company’s anti-IL-15 monoclonal antibody (mAb) for T-cell driven skin diseases.
