Sept 3 (Reuters) – Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis (NOVN.S) has entered into a licensing and options agreement worth up to $5.2 billion with China-based Argo Biopharmaceutical, the biotech firm announced on Wednesday. The deal centers on Argo’s experimental treatments targeting cardiovascular diseases.
Argo is developing therapies based on RNA interference (RNAi) technology, which works by silencing or deactivating disease-related genes.
The agreement expands on Novartis’ existing partnership with Argo and grants Novartis the right of first negotiation for Argo’s investigational drug, BW-00112.
The RNAi-based drug is currently in mid-stage clinical development for the treatment of severe hypertriglyceridemia—a condition characterized by elevated levels of triglycerides in the blood, which significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes.
Alnylam’s (ALNY.O) RNAi therapy, vutrisiran—marketed as Amvuttra—is already approved in the U.S. for treating transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy, a rare and life-threatening heart condition.
Commenting on Argo’s pipeline, Shaun Coughlin, Global Head of Cardiovascular and Metabolism at Novartis Biomedical Research, said: “Argo’s candidates, designed to deeply and durably suppress disease-driving proteins, represent a meaningful shift in how we approach the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.”
Under the agreement covering markets outside of China, Argo will receive an upfront payment of $160 million, along with up to $5.2 billion in potential milestone payments and royalties on future product sales.
The deal also gives Novartis the option to license two early-stage drug candidates—one targeting severe hypertriglyceridemia and the other for mixed dyslipidemia—as well as an additional RNA-based therapy expected to begin clinical trials next year.
Argo also noted that Novartis has expressed a non-binding interest in participating in its upcoming equity financing round.
According to Argo, the total value of its collaboration with Novartis exceeds $9 billion in downstream milestone payments, excluding royalties.
