Pharma BD Deal Intelligence
Novartis bets up to $3.1 billion to buy back its own blood thinner abelacimab through the Anthos acquisition, essentially repurchasing a drug it had originally…
Novartis narrows focus for anticoagulant after failure to best Eliquis in phase 3 trial. Novartis has terminated two phase 3 trials for the abelacimab antibody…
MAGNOLIA (abelacimab vs dalteparin, GI/GU cancer VTE): OverallStatus TERMINATED, WhyStopped 'Sponsor Decision', status verified 2026-04.
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Novartis acquired Anthos Therapeutics (a 2019 Blackstone Life Sciences / Novartis spinout) for up to $3.1B — $925M upfront plus regulatory and sales milestones — announced Feb 11, 2025 and closed Apr 3, 2025, reacquiring the Factor XI/XIa inhibitor abelacimab. Abelacimab is a once-monthly subcutaneous fully human monoclonal antibody positioned as a hemostasis-sparing anticoagulant. The lead opportunity is stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation: the Phase 3 LILAC-TIMI 76 trial (NCT05712200) remains in recruitment with completion expected Oct 2026 and a Novartis-targeted 2028 regulatory filing. The secondary cancer-associated thrombosis (CAT) program has since failed: in early 2026 Novartis terminated both Phase 3 CAT studies — ASTER (NCT05171049, vs apixaban) after a data review indicated abelacimab would not beat Eliquis, and MAGNOLIA (NCT05171075, vs dalteparin in GI/GU cancer VTE) — ending abelacimab development in CAT and narrowing the asset's value to the AF indication.
| Deal | Year | Value | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Novartis AG / Anthos Therapeutics (this deal) | 2025 | $3.1B | 74 |
| Novartis AG / Advanced Accelerator Applications S.A. | 2017 | $3.9B | 98 |
| Novartis AG / Endocyte, Inc. | 2018 | $2.1B | 96 |
| Novartis AG / Lek Pharmaceuticals d.d. | 2002 | $876M | 88 |
| Novartis AG / GlaxoSmithKline plc | 2014 | $16.0B | 81 |
| Novartis AG / PTC Therapeutics Inc. | 2024 | $2.9B | 80 |
| Novartis AG / Chinook Therapeutics Inc. | 2023 | $3.5B | 78 |
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More: 2025 deals · Novartis AG deals · Cardiovascular deals