Novartis has entered into a licensing agreement with SciNeuro Pharmaceuticals focused on improving drug delivery to the brain. The Novartis and SciNeuro brain shuttle deal is valued at up to $1.7 billion and centers on an antibody-based program designed to transport Alzheimer’s disease treatments into the brain.
Under the agreement, Novartis will pay SciNeuro $165 million upfront for worldwide rights to the program. The companies will work together during early development, with Novartis providing research funding, before Novartis assumes responsibility for later-stage development and potential commercialization.
SciNeuro is also eligible to receive up to $1.5 billion in development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, along with tiered royalties on future sales if the therapy reaches the market.
Overcoming the blood-brain barrier has long been a challenge in treating neurodegenerative diseases. The barrier tightly regulates which substances can pass from the bloodstream into the brain, limiting the effectiveness of many therapies. The Novartis and SciNeuro brain shuttle deal reflects ongoing efforts across the industry to address this problem.
Other large pharmaceutical companies are also investing in similar approaches. Roche is advancing a brain shuttle bispecific amyloid-beta antibody in phase 3 trials and recently signed a shuttle-related agreement with Manifold Bio. Novartis has previously pursued this area as well, securing an option deal with Sironax last year tied to blood-brain barrier crossing technology.
Neuroscience remains a core focus area for Novartis, alongside oncology, immunology and cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases.
“There is a pressing need for new and differentiated therapeutics to help alleviate suffering in devastating neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease,” said Robert Baloh, M.D., Ph.D., global head of neuroscience, biomedical research at Novartis.
“We are happy to be collaborating with SciNeuro, an organization which has proprietary technology aiming to safely and effectively target amyloid beta and which shares our sense of urgency and commitment to this disease area,” he added.
