Novartis is discontinuing a neurodegeneration alliance with BioArctic in which the companies aimed to develop a drug candidate that could cross the blood-brain barrier.
Novartis is icing out BioArctic, abandoning a neurodegeneration pact that could have been worth more than $772 biobucks for the Swedish biotech.
Just last year, Novartis paid $30 million cash to join forces with BioArctic and secure a licensing option to a potential drug candidate generated from the alliance. The deal centered around the biotech’s BrainTransporter technology, which is designed to help drugs cross the blood-brain barrier. The two companies were aiming to develop a new treatment for a neurodegenerative condition combining BioArctic’s technology with a proprietary Novartis antibody.
Now, the Big Pharma has terminated the entire agreement after discontinuing the program, according to a release from BioArctic. The biotech said the decision was unrelated to its BrainTransporter technology, which uses transferrin receptors in hopes of shuttling drugs across the brain.
“This follows a recent review of our early research priorities to focus on where we can have the greatest impact and is unrelated to safety or efficacy concerns,” a Novartis spokesperson told BioSpace in an email Tuesday morning. “We remain dedicated to innovating solutions for delivering therapeutics across the blood brain barrier.”
Most recently, the pharma exercised its exclusive option to acquire global rights to Sironax’s Brain Delivery Module platform, as announced this September. Novartis first teamed up with Sironax in July 2025, when it secured the option for up to $175 million in upfront and near-term payments.
While BioArctic is losing a major partner, the biotech’s science has attracted attention beyond Novartis, drawing in partners including Eisai, Bristol Myers Squibb and, most recently, Eli Lilly. In June, the obesity-focused pharma paid $30 million upfront and is offering up to $770 million to combine the BrainTransporter tech with its own undisclosed neurodegeneration candidate.
BioArctic is the original home of Leqembi, the Eisai-Biogen amyloid antibody that secured a 2023 approval in Alzheimer’s disease. BioArctic licensed the drug to Eisai in 2007 while maintaining rights to co-commercialize the drug in the Nordic region. Eisai later partnered with Biogen to bring the drug to market.
Editor’s note (Nov 3): This story has been updated to include comments from Novartis.
