Imperial College London spinout Myricx Bio to be acquired by Novartis for up to $1.5 billion
Myricx Bio, a cancer therapy spinout from Imperial’s Department of Chemistry today announced it has reached agreement to be acquired by Novartis – based in White City Innovation District – for up to $1.5 billion, including $1.1 billion cash upfront plus potential milestone payments. The agreement between the two companies represents the highest-value acquisition of any Imperial spinout company to date.
Myricx Bio was founded in 2019 to build on research into N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) carried out by founders Professor Ed Tate, Dr. Andrew Bell and Dr. Roberto Solari in Imperial’s Department of Chemistry and The Francis Crick Institute, with key support from Cancer Research UK (CRUK).
Since then, the company has transformed its deep expertise in NMT biology and chemistry into the discovery and development of new treatments for a range of different tumour types through a novel class of payloads for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).
These payloads are designed to overcome the limitations associated with widely used ADC classes such as TOPO‑1 and tubulin inhibitors. Myricx Bio has built an advanced pre‑clinical pipeline of proprietary NMTi‑ADCs, with lead programmes targeting clinically validated cancer antigens including B7‑H3 and HER2.
In 2024, Myricx Bio raised £90 million in investment – one of the largest Series A rounds ever raised by a European academic biotech spinout. Myricx’s Chief Scientific Officer Francesca Zammarchi was formerly part of the team at ADC Therapeutics, also founded in White City Innovation District.
Professor Hugh Brady, President of Imperial College London, said: “This proposed acquisition is a real testament to the strength of Imperial’s research and entrepreneurial ecosystem. Spinouts are a key part of translating Imperial’s world leading research into real-world impact as part of our Science for Humanity strategy, and we are proud to have supported Myricx Bio throughout their journey.”
More details in this Imperial news story.
Myricx Bio team pictured from L-R: Co-Founder Dr Andrew Bell; Co-Founder Dr Roberto Solari; Co-Founder Professor Ed Tate; Chief Technology Office Dr Robin Carr
