Novartis to pay Monte Rosa $150 million upfront to develop a new class of drugs

Monte Rosa Therapeutics

28/10/2024 12:49

Oct 28 (Reuters) - Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis
 NOVN.S  will pay Monte Rosa Therapeutics  GLUE.O  $150 million
upfront payment for a global license to develop, manufacture and
sell some drug candidates, the U.S.-based biotech firm said on
Monday.
    The agreement covers a class of drugs called "molecular glue
degraders," which target abnormal protein functions associated
with some diseases that are hard to treat with existing
medications.
        Monte Rosa will also be eligible for future payments of
up to $2.1 billion as well as royalties on net sales outside the
U.S.
    Shares of Monte Rosa surged 32% to $6.46 in premarket trade
following the news.
        
CONTEXT
    Novartis is bracing for the loss of U.S. patent protection
next year for its bestseller Entresto and for Promacta to treat
a lack of blood platelets.
 
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT 
    Among the candidates, Novartis will get access to MRT-6160,
for which Monte Rosa is currently conducting an early-stage
study for immune-mediated conditions. Novartis will take over
the development of the candidate from mid-stage trials.
     Like many major pharmaceutical companies, Novartis has been
actively securing deals to strengthen its drug pipeline and
mitigate the impact of losing exclusivity on key medications. 
    The Swiss company is also streamlining its operations by
cutting jobs and costs and sharpening focus on fewer therapeutic
areas and geographic markets.
    
KEY QUOTE
    "Novartis has had a long-standing interest in molecular glue
degraders, which offer the potential to tackle challenging
biological targets," said Fiona Marshall, president of
biomedical research at Novartis.

    

 (Reporting by Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
 ((Leroy.Dsouza@thomsonreuters.com))