Novartis has struck a deal worth up to $3.2 billion to work with Alteogen on subcutaneous drug delivery, joining Biogen and GSK on the list of drugmakers to pay to access the technology this year.
Korea’s Alteogen has emerged as a major player in the subcutaneous drug delivery space in recent years. Competing with Halozyme Therapeutics, Alteogen has landed deals with leading drugmakers based on its rival approach to facilitating subcutaneous delivery. Merck & Co. handed Alteogen a big win in 2020 by picking its ALT-B4 technology for the subcutaneous version of Keytruda.
Since then, the Korean biopharma company has expanded its star-studded roster of clients. Novartis joined the list on Wednesday, entering into an option and license agreement for ALT-B4. The Swiss drugmaker has multiple options to obtain exclusive rights to develop drugs using the delivery technology. Novartis didn’t respond immediately to Fierce Biotech’s request for more information about the alliance.
The value of the deal could swell to more than $3.2 billion if Novartis exercises all its options and hits all the milestones covered by the agreement. Alteogen’s press release makes no mention of an upfront fee, which typically comprises a fraction of its total deal value. Biogen and GSK each paid $20 million upfront as part of deals worth up to $549 million and $265 million, respectively, in milestones.
Alteogen disclosed its single-product deal with GSK’s Tesaro in January and partnered with Biogen on up to two assets in March. The company unveiled another deal, worth up to $365 million, with an unnamed drugmaker last month. AstraZeneca partnered with Alteogen in 2025.
Novartis’ earlier explorations of subcutaneous delivery include a 2024 deal with Lindy Biosciences, which saw the Swiss drugmaker pay $20 million upfront to use a suspension technology in medicines against multiple biologic targets.