Key Highlights
- Novartis has agreed to acquire UK-based Myricx Bio in a deal worth up to US$1.5 billion, including a US$1.1 billion upfront payment plus milestone payments, marking a major exit for Australasian venture firm Brandon Capital.
- Myricx Bio brings two lead antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) assets and a proprietary N-myristoyltransferase inhibitor (NMTi) payload platform designed to overcome resistance and toxicity limitations seen in current ADC therapies, targeting cancer markers B7-H3 and HER2.
- The deal caps a rapid transformation for the Imperial College London and Francis Crick Institute spinout, which grew from a 2019 seed investment into a company backed by a record UK academic Series A round before its acquisition, expected to close in the second half of 2026.
A Landmark Exit for Early-Stage Science
Brandon Capital’s exit from Myricx Bio represents one of its most significant returns to date, converting an early academic spinout into a near-$1.5 billion acquisition target for a global pharmaceutical leader. The firm was a joint founding seed investor in 2019 and maintained a substantial ownership stake through years of capital-efficient development, underscoring the payoff potential of backing novel biology well before it gains broader industry recognition.
A Next-Generation Approach to ADC Payloads
Myricx Bio’s core innovation lies in its NMTi payload platform, engineered to address longstanding challenges in antibody-drug conjugates, namely resistance and toxicity that can limit treatment durability and tolerability. By pairing this novel payload class with precision antibody targeting against established cancer targets, the platform aims to expand the therapeutic index available to oncologists treating solid tumors.
From Academic Spinout to Pharma-Ready Platform
The company’s path from a 2019 Imperial College London and Francis Crick Institute spinout to a Novartis acquisition target reflects a deliberate multi-year build. A pivotal 2023 shift toward dedicated ADC development, supported by new leadership and expertise, culminated in a 2024 Series A round described as the largest ever for a UK academic startup, drawing investment from major life sciences backers including Eli Lilly and Novo Holdings ahead of its eventual sale.
Strategic Validation for Investors and Founders
Company leadership and investors alike framed the acquisition as validation of a long-term bet on unproven science. Novartis’s interest in the platform is seen as confirmation that NMT inhibition can support an entirely new class of first-in-class cancer therapeutics, while Brandon Capital points to the deal as reinforcing its broader model of connecting early scientific conviction with the capital, talent, and networks needed to scale globally competitive biotech companies.
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