Novartis is paying $925 million upfront to acquire Anthos Therapeutics, whose launch the pharma backed in February 2019.
Novartis wants its late-stage anticoagulant antibody abelacimab back, and on Tuesday, the pharma put up to $3.1 billion on the line to acquire its current owner, the privately-held Boston-based biotech Anthos Therapeutics.
Abelacimab is a fully human monoclonal antibody that binds to Factor XI, a central clotting protein—and a well-known target for anticoagulants. In February 2019, Novartis joined hands with the investment firm Blackstone Life Sciences to launch Anthos. At the time, the pharma offloaded abelacimab to the start-up which, along with $250 million in starting capital from Blackstone, was supposed to take the antibody through clinical studies.
Now, Novartis is paying $925 million upfront for Anthos and abelacimab, which chief medical officer Shreeram Aradhye on Tuesday called a “potential first-in-class treatment.” Abelacimab, according to Aradhye, could be a “safer approach for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation as well as cancer-associated thrombosis.”
Novartis is also pledging up to $2.15 billion in certain regulatory and sales milestones. The acquisition is expected to close in the first half of 2025, pending antitrust and regulatory clearance, as well as other customary conditions.
Last month, Anthos published data from the landmark Phase IIb AZALEA-TIMI 71 study in the New England Journal of Medicine, demonstrating that 150-mg abelacimab given monthly achieved a 99% median inhibition of Factor XI, an effect it was able to sustain for more than two years.
Patients on abelacimab saw a 62% drop in major or clinically relevant non-major bleeding, as compared with patients on Johnson & Johnson’s Xarelto. The treatment difference was statistically significant, with a p-value less than 0.001. In September 2023, Anthos stopped AZALEA-TIMI 71 ahead of schedule due to the “overwhelming” efficacy of abelacimab.
According to Novartis’ news release on Tuesday, abelacimab is currently being studied in three Phase III studies, one in atrial fibrillation and two in cancer-associated thrombosis.
With the Anthos acquisition, Novartis seeks to succeed where fellow Big Pharma Bayer failed. In November 2023, the company terminated the Phase III OCEANIC-AF study of its Factor XIa blocker asundexian after an independent data monitoring board found that the candidate had “inferior efficacy” to Pfizer’s Eliquis. J&J and BMS also suffered a Factor XIa setback in August 2022 when their candidate milvexian failed to demonstrate a dose response in patients with acute ischemic strokes or transient ischemic attacks.
Tuesday’s buyout also continues biopharma’s big-ticket dealmaking streak. Last week, for instance, venture capital firm Bain Capital announced the $3.3 billion acquisition of Japan’s Mistubishi Tanabe. Last month, GSK snapped up IDRx for at least $1 billion and J&J bought Intra-Cellular for $14.6 billion. Another possible acquisition on the horizon is Merck KGaA’s potential deal with SpringWorks, though the companies are still currently in “advanced discussions,” with no certainty that they will reach an agreement.
