Novartis is serving up $60 million to partner with Matchpoint Therapeutics in hopes of getting an oral covalent inhibitor over the line for inflammatory diseases that have been historically difficult to treat.
The exclusive option and licensing pact covers the development and commercialization of oral covalent inhibitors directed at an unnamed transcription factor tied to several inflammatory diseases, according to a July 24 release.
The deal is the preclinical Matchpoint’s first partnership to be publicly disclosed.
Swiss pharma Novartis is set to deliver $60 million in upfront cash and research funding. In exchange, Matchpoint will use its covalent platform to conduct all research activities up to development candidate selection.
Novartis will then have the option to exclusively license a program. If the pharma opts in, it will gain global rights to develop and commercialize all products resulting from the partnership.
In return, Matchpoint could make up to $1 billion in potential milestone payments and is also eligible to receive an option exercise payment and royalties on potential sales.
“This collaboration highlights the potential of our targeted approach to covalent chemistry to unlock novel mechanisms and achieve superior pharmacology,” Matchpoint CEO and president Andre Turenne said in the release. Turenne previously helmed Voyager Therapeutics until 2021 and held several leadership positions at Sanofi before that.
The Massachusetts-based biotech’s drug discovery platform—dubbed ACE, for Advanced Covalent Exploration—takes aim at validated protein targets that either are historically hard to drug or have been inadequately addressed by conventional approaches.
ACE is designed to blend machine learning with a library of covalent compounds, as well as chemoproteomic screening that can identify covalent binders, in attempts to produce a more durable attachment to a target.
The preclinical company was unveiled in 2022 after closing a $70 million series A round, which included investment from Sanofi’s venture arm. The financing round followed a fundraise of nearly $30 million in seed money.
The company has yet to publicly name a pipeline program.
Meanwhile, Matchpoint’s new partner, Novartis, has just ended work on an investigational monoclonal antibody in the autoinflammatory condition hidradenitis suppurativa after the candidate failed to meet efficacy thresholds in a phase 2 study.
Earlier this month, the pharma inked a deal with Sironax that gives Novartis the exclusive option to acquire the biotech’s blood-brain barrier-crossing technology after a trial period.
If Novartis decides to buy the platform, the Swiss pharma will have full global rights to the Sironax science, giving the biotech the chance to make up to $175 million in upfront and near-term payments.