Novartis is paying Sironax $125 million to take up its option on a brain delivery platform, gaining control of technology for getting large molecules to targets in the central nervous system.
Stymied by the blood-brain barrier (BBB), companies have struggled to get effective doses of antibodies and other large molecules to neurological disorder targets. The difficulties have impeded attempts to treat a range of diseases, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Novartis identified Sironax as a company capable of tackling the challenges last year, leading the Swiss drugmaker to land an option to acquire the biotech’s platform after a trial period. Fourteen months later, Novartis exercised the option.
Sironax will receive $125 million when the deal closes. When the biotech disclosed the option agreement last year, the company said it was eligible to receive up to $175 million in upfront and near-term payments.
Buying the platform adds to Novartis’ options for getting molecules into the brain. Earlier this year, Bob Baloh, M.D., Ph.D., global head of neuroscience at Novartis Biomedical Research, told Fierce that there is unlikely to be one solution to the BBB problem. Believing a toolbox of technologies will be needed, Baloh said Novartis is always looking for new ways to cross the barrier.
While the Swiss pharma is buying Sironax’s platform, the biotech is retaining rights to use the technology in some assets. Sironax’s three clinical-phase candidates are small molecules. Through the Novartis deal, Sironax has secured money to advance the lead programs while retaining the chance to expand its pipeline with large molecules that use the brain delivery platform.
“More importantly, we believe this transaction will help maximize the platform’s potential, enabling its application to a broader range of programs and ultimately benefiting more patients around the world,” Sironax CEO Shefali Agarwal, M.D., said in a video about the deal.
Novartis’ neuroscience pipeline features 14 assets, including approved drugs being studied for label expansions. The programs represent chances for the Swiss drugmaker to regain momentum following a bruising period, in which the failures of two key late-stage programs raised questions about its mid- to long-term growth prospects.