Unnatural Products (UNP) and Novartis entered a research collaboration and licensing agreement worth up to $100 million in upfront and pre-IND milestones plus up to $1.7 billion in development, regulatory, and commercial milestones, with tiered royalties from mid-single to low double-digits. The collaboration pairs UNP's AI-enhanced macrocycle platform with Novartis' global development capabilities for an undisclosed cardiovascular program. Novartis assumes responsibility for IND-enabling studies, clinical development, manufacturing, and global commercialization.
Key facts
AnnouncedFeb 18, 2026
Deal value$1.8B
Deal typeLicensing/Option
Therapeutic areaCardiovascular disease
IndicationsCardiovascular disease
Key assetsUndisclosed macrocyclic peptide program (cardiovascular)
MechanismAI-guided macrocyclic peptide design with massively parallel synthesis and direct-to-biology screening, targeting orally bioavailable macrocycles against previously undruggable cardiovascular targets