Novartis, through its subsidiary Novartis Pharma, has inked a strategic collaboration with California-based Dren Bio focused on the discovery and development of therapeutic bispecific antibodies for cancer.
Per the deal, the partners will use Dren's proprietary 'targeted myeloid engager and phagocytosis platform' to discover novel bispecific antibody therapies in an attempt to bring forward new therapeutic options for patients living with cancer. The partners will collaborate to advance selected targeted myeloid engager programs in oncology through clinical candidate selection, at which point Novartis will assume full responsibility for all remaining development, manufacturing, regulatory and commercialization activities.
Under the terms of the deal, Dren will receive $150 million upfront from Novartis, which includes a $25 million equity investment in the company. Dren is also eligible to receive up to $2.85 billion in additional cash payments upon achieving certain milestones.
For Novartis, the collab comes amid a surge of oncology-focused dealmaking. Back in April, the drugmaker entered into a potential $1+ billion licensing agreement with Arvinas for the worldwide development and commercialization of a second-generation androgen receptor degrader aimed at treating prostate cancer. Later that month, Novartis expanded its multi-billion dollar peptide discovery collaboration with Japan-based PeptiDream. In May, Novartis paid $1 billion upfront to acquire Massachusetts-based Mariana Oncology, picking up a pipeline of novel radioligand therapies to treat cancers with high unmet need.
The bispecific antibody space has also been generating interest among drugmakers as of late, with companies such as J&J, Gilead and Astellas all recently announcing collaborations.