Novartis inks US$1.9B precision Oncology deal with Antares Therapeutics to target undruggable cancers

DENMARK—Novartis has entered into a major oncology partnership with Antares Therapeutics, committing up to US$1.9 billion to accelerate the development of precision cancer therapies targeting historically “undruggable” targets.

The agreement marks a significant milestone for Antares, a biotechnology company that emerged from Scorpion Therapeutics just a year ago.

Under the terms of the deal, Novartis will make an upfront payment of US$105 million, while Antares remains eligible for up to US$1.8 billion in additional payments tied to option exercises, development progress, regulatory approvals, and commercial milestones.

The biotech company will also receive tiered royalties on future global product sales.

The collaboration will focus on discovering, developing, and commercialising small-molecule therapies against cancer targets that have traditionally resisted conventional drug development approaches.

Antares will lead the research phase and apply its proprietary drug-discovery platform to a limited number of oncology targets before Novartis decides whether to exercise licensing options for individual programmes.

Building on a rapid rise

Antares was launched in June 2025 after spinning out from Scorpion Therapeutics with three preclinical oncology programmes and US$177 million in Series A financing.

The spinout followed a major transaction earlier that year, in which Eli Lilly agreed to acquire Scorpion’s PI3Kα programme for up to US$2.5 billion.

The company’s lead precision oncology candidate is expected to enter clinical testing later this year, while several additional programmes remain in preclinical development.

According to Antares, its discovery engine combines proprietary compound libraries, advanced mass spectrometry technologies, computational drug-design tools, and innovative methods for identifying previously inaccessible drug-binding pockets.

Adam Friedman, Chief Executive Officer of Antares Therapeutics, said the company was founded to systematically unlock difficult yet high-value drug targets and develop first-in-class precision medicines.

He noted that partnering with Novartis would allow Antares to expand the reach of its discovery platform while benefiting from the pharmaceutical giant’s global development expertise and commercial capabilities.

Friedman added that the agreement builds on years of work by a team that has consistently developed highly selective medicines against some of the most challenging targets in drug discovery.

Novartis expands focus on precision oncology

Fiona Marshall, President of Biomedical Research at Novartis, said many of the most promising opportunities in oncology involve targets that have historically been considered beyond the reach of existing medicines.

She said the collaboration could open the door to a new generation of targeted therapies and potentially deliver meaningful advances for patients with cancer.

The deal adds to a busy year of business development activity for Novartis.

In March 2026, the company agreed to acquire a portfolio of pan-mutant-selective PI3Kα inhibitors from Synnovation Therapeutics in a transaction valued at up to US$3 billion.

Two months later, it announced the acquisition of allergy-focused biotech Excellergy in a deal valued at up to US$2 billion.

Oncology remains Novartis’ largest therapeutic area, generating US$16.8 billion in revenue during 2025.

Its breast cancer treatment Kisqali (ribociclib) continued to lead the portfolio, contributing US$4.8 billion in annual sales.

The company has also continued investing heavily in precision medicine, radioligand therapies, and next-generation cancer treatments as part of its long-term growth strategy.