Novartis Acquires Myricx Bio for Up to $1.5B to Boost ADC Oncology Pipeline
Novartis acquires UK biotech Myricx Bio for up to $1.5B, gaining a novel NMTi ADC payload platform and two lead assets targeting B7-H3 and HER2. The deal includes $1.1B upfront with $400M in milestones, expected to close in H2 2026.
Novartis has agreed to acquire Myricx Bio, a UK-based biotechnology company developing a new class of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), for up to $1.5 billion. The Swiss group will pay approximately $1.1 billion upfront, with up to $400 million more tied to milestone payments.
Myricx is a pre-clinical company, meaning its lead programmes have not begun human trials. What it offers is a novel payload for ADCs — the class of medicines that has become one of oncology's most competitive battlegrounds. An ADC works like a guided weapon, using an antibody to carry a toxic drug directly to a tumour cell.
Myricx is developing N-myristoyltransferase inhibitors (NMTi) as the toxic component of its conjugates, an approach the company argues can get around the resistance and toxicity that limit many existing ADCs. Myristoylation is a lipid modification process involving the addition of myristic acid to the N-terminus of proteins. NMT inhibition is designed to disrupt critical cellular processes in cancer cells.
Under the terms of the agreement, Novartis will gain Myricx's NMTi payload platform, two lead ADC assets targeting B7-H3 and HER2, and a broader payload platform across multiple solid tumor settings. The acquisition is expected to strengthen the company's oncology pipeline.
Myricx's backers include Brandon Capital and Novo Holdings. The company spun out of academic research and grew on venture money. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
The upfront $1.1 billion is real money changing hands; the additional $400 million is contingent on the science working, and pre-clinical assets fail more often than they succeed. Novartis is buying optionality, not a finished product, and the value of the deal will be settled in clinical data that is still years away.