Novartis is putting down $30 million, with a potential $772 million on the line, to work with BioArctic’s tech to find a new drug in the neurodegeneration space.
Under the initial research collaboration, the partners plan to combine BioArctic’s BrainTransporter technology with a Novartis antibody "with an undisclosed target in neurodegeneration," according to a BioArctic press release issued Tuesday.
The Swedish company’s tech is designed to help with the passage of biological drugs into the brain, a key component in drug development and one that can boost efficacy.
The biotech will get $30 million upfront, with Novartis committing to make additional payments of up to $772 million if it likes the data it sees in the coming years and decides to license any drug coming out of the collab.
If Novartis decides to license a candidate generated from the work, the Swiss pharma giant "will assume full responsibility for the global development and commercialization of the drug candidate and related products," BioArctic explained in its release.
BioArctic will also be in line to receive “tiered mid-single digit" royalties on sales of any medicine resulting from the pact.
Last year, the company penned a similar pact with Bristol Myers Squibb focused on early Alzheimer’s disease work.
The biotech has a long history in neurodegeneration research, having for 20 years a pact with Eisai that focused on Alzheimer’s, eventually leading to the approval, alongside Biogen, of Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi.
"Collaborating with BioArctic allows us to explore the exciting potential of the BrainTransporter technology to promote brain uptake and optimize systemic delivery of novel therapeutic agents by leveraging the biology of the blood-brain barrier,” Sophie Parmentier-Batteur, head of neurodegeneration research at Novartis, said in a statement.