Under the terms of the agreement, Dren Bio will receive a total upfront consideration of $150 million from Novartis, which includes a $25 million equity investment in the company. Dren Bio is also eligible to receive up to $2.85 billion in preclinical, clinical, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties on future net sales of any commercialized products resulting from the collaboration.

“Our agreement with Dren Bio is a promising opportunity to discover novel bispecific antibody therapies for cancer, building on our longstanding expertise in immuno-oncology science at Novartis,” commented Shiva Malek, global head of Oncology for Biomedical Research at Novartis.

Nenad Tomasevic, CEO of Dren Bio, said: “Combining the proven capabilities of Novartis in oncology drug development with Dren Bio’s novel platform could enable the advancement of important new therapies for patients.”

Amit Mehta, chief operating officer and chief business officer of Dren Bio, added: “Dren Bio’s targeted myeloid engager and phagocytosis platform is designed to deplete various disease-causing agents and has led to a rich and diverse pipeline. This collaboration will benefit from Novartis' impressive track record of developing novel medicines and help further expand the reach of our platform.”

Dren Bio and Novartis plan to advance selected targeted myeloid engager programs in oncology through clinical candidate selection, at which point Novartis will assume full responsibility for all remaining development, manufacturing, regulatory, and commercialization activities.

The agreement is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory clearance.