Novartis to Acquire Anthos Therapeutics with $925 Million Upfront Payment
The transaction includes abelacimab, which is a late-stage medicine that is in development for prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation.
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Novartis has agreed to purchase Anthos Therapeutics, of Boston, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that was launched by Blackstone Life Sciences and Novartis itself in 2019 (1). Novartis announced the pending acquisition, which will be made at an upfront price of $925 million, in a press release on Feb. 11, 2025.
The transaction includes abelacimab, a human monoclonal antibody in late-stage development for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation, according to the release (1). Abelacimab received a fast track designation from FDA in September 2022 for treatment of such patients, after garnering another in July 2022 for treatment of thrombosis associated with cancer.
Shreeram Aradhye, MD, president, Development and chief medical officer, Novartis, praised the alignment of Novartis with Anthos in the press release.
“We are excited to join forces to advance the development of abelacimab, a potential first-in-class treatment and safer approach for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation as well as cancer-associated thrombosis,” Aradhye said. “Welcoming Anthos Therapeutics strengthens our focus in the cardiovascular space and complements our portfolio of life-changing treatments, comprehensive clinical programs, and strategic collaborations that help thousands of patients with heart disease around the world.”
After Phase II trial data showed “a significant reduction” in bleeding events in patients who were given abelacimab versus standard-of-care, direct-oral coagulant, Novartis said three Phase III trials are currently underway involving patients at risk of arterial and venous clots: two in cancer associated thrombosis, and one in patients with atrial fibrillation (1).
“Abelacimab is a potential first-in-class medicine, which promises to be an effective and safer approach to preventing thrombosis and stroke than the current standards of care.” said David Soergel, MD, global head, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism (CRM) Development Unit, Novartis, in the release. “We are proud that this medicine originated at Novartis and have been impressed with the Anthos Therapeutics team’s expertise and dedication and with the great progress they have made on the program. Now is the right time to bring abelacimab back into the Novartis CRM pipeline.”
Novartis has reported a flurry of other M&A activity in the 12 months leading up to the February 11 announcement. First, in February 2024, the company agreed to purchase the Germany-based biopharmaceutical company MorphoSys for €68 per share, or €2.7 billion (US$2.9 billion at the time) in aggregate, in an all-cash transaction (2). In May 2024, an announcement was made about the acquisition of Mariana Oncology, a preclinical stage biotechnology company based in Massachusetts (3).
An agreement between Novartis and Versant Ventures in August 2024 resulted in the creation of an independent, discovery-stage biotechnology company, Borealis Biosciences, to be headquartered in Vancouver, Canada (4). In October 2024, Monte Rosa Therapeutics, of Boston, entered into a global exclusive development and commercialization license agreement with Novartis to advance vav guanine nucleotide exchange factor 1 molecular glue degrader-based medicines (5). And in December 2024, a global license and collaboration agreement announced between Novartis and PTC Therapeutics gave Novartis access to PTC’s PTC518 Huntington's disease program (6).
Novartis’ acquisition of Anthos Therapeutics is expected to close before the end of the first half of 2025, according to the February 11 press release (1).
References
1. Novartis. Novartis Bolsters Late-Stage Cardiovascular Pipeline with Agreement to Acquire Anthos Therapeutics for USD 925 Million Upfront. Press Release. Feb. 11, 2025.
2. Novartis. Novartis to Strengthen Oncology Pipeline with Agreement to Acquire MorphoSys AG for EUR 68 Per Share or an Aggregate of EUR 2.7bn in Cash. Press Release. Feb. 5, 2024.
3. Novartis. Novartis Enters Agreement to Acquire Mariana Oncology, Strengthening Radioligand Therapy Pipeline. Press Release, May 2, 2024.
4. Novartis. Novartis Employs Creative Deal Structure to Establish Borealis Biosciences–Divests Legacy Chinook Site, Invests to Form New Company and Engages in R&D Collaboration. Press Release. Aug. 22, 2024.
5. Monte Rosa Therapeutics. Monte Rosa Therapeutics Announces Global License Agreement with Novartis to Advance T and B Cell-Modulating VAV1-Directed Molecular Glue Degraders. Press Release. Oct. 28, 2024.
6. Novartis. Novartis Bolsters Neuroscience Pipeline with In-Licensing of PTC518 for Huntington’s Disease. Press Release. Dec. 2, 2024.
