Novartis has entered into a partnership with Unnatural Products, a California-based biotechnology company, to develop new macrocyclic peptide therapies. The agreement includes an upfront payment of $100 million from Novartis and could reach up to $1.7 billion if development, regulatory, and commercial milestones are met. Unnatural Products will also receive royalties on net sales for any products that reach the market.
The collaboration centers on Unnatural Products’ artificial intelligence-driven platform, which creates synthetic peptides designed to mimic natural macrocycles. These molecules can interact with complex biological targets while maintaining the ability to cross cell membranes like small-molecule drugs. According to the companies, this approach may lead to next-generation therapeutics with potential applications in cardiovascular disease.
Other pharmaceutical companies have shown interest in Unnatural Products’ technology as well. Merck entered into a deal worth up to $220 million in January 2024, and argenx agreed to a partnership valued at potentially $1.5 billion in July last year.
Details about the number of programs or specific disease targets involved in the Novartis-Unnatural Products alliance were not disclosed. Novartis will oversee investigational new drug-enabling studies, clinical development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs, and commercialization for any resulting assets.
Muneto Mogi, global head of Global Discovery Chemistry at Novartis Biomedical Research, stated: “The UNP partnership will allow the pharma ‘to engage targets at a dose and with a pharmacological versatility not possible with many other approaches.’”
This move aligns with Novartis’ ongoing strategy of expanding its early-stage pipeline through mergers and acquisitions (M&A). During the company’s full-year 2025 earnings call, CEO Vas Narasimhan said Novartis would continue “to build out our early-stage pipeline,” focusing on “deals in the sub-$2-billion range.”
Novartis has recently formed several partnerships targeting early-stage drug candidates. In September last year, it committed up to $5.7 billion for Monte Rosa Therapeutics’ Phase 1 molecular glue program for immune-mediated conditions. Earlier this year, Novartis partnered with SciNeuro from China for an upfront payment of $165 million and potential milestones totaling up to $1.5 billion; this deal secured worldwide rights to an early-stage anti-amyloid antibody aimed at Alzheimer’s disease.
Narasimhan reaffirmed this approach by stating that Novartis is still seeking early-stage deals under $2 billion as well as later-stage agreements involving products that could be launched within five years.
