Pharma BD Deal Intelligence
A modest-risk platform play: Novartis committed just $100M in upfront and pre-IND milestones for Unnatural Products' AI-guided macrocyclic peptide technology against an undisclosed cardiovascular target, with the bulk of the up-to-$1.7B value backloaded into development, regulatory, and commercial milestones that may never trigger.
Outcome grade pending — assessed 5 years post-close.
Full analysis, sources & comparables →Novartis Bets Up to $1.7B in Cardio-Focused Peptide Partnership. The agreement pairs UNP's AI-guided macrocyclic design with Novartis' cardiovascular…
Novartis finds natural partner in macrocycle biotech, inking $1.7B-plus cardio deal. The pact extends Novartis's cardiovascular franchise beyond its entrenched…
A nimble Santa Cruz, CA-based biotech has corralled a $45 million Series B to prove whether its decade of R&D in the burgeoning macrocycle space can yield oral…
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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.
127.9M US cases/yr · $417.9B US CVD direct + indirect annual cost 2020-2021 (AHA) · 941,652 US CVD-attributed deaths 2022 (AHA)
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) encompasses coronary artery disease, heart failure, stroke, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and related conditions, and is the leading cause of death in the United States. Per the American Heart Association's 2025 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics report, 127.9 million US adults (48.6%) had some form of CVD between 2017 and 2020, with CVD accounting for 941,652 deaths in 2022 and imposing $417.9B in direct and indirect costs between 2020 and 2021. Within CVD, many validated and emerging targets (PCSK9, Lp(a), ANGPTL3, intracellular protein-protein interactions) are considered 'undruggable' by conventional small molecules yet impractical for antibody/siRNA approaches due to cost, delivery, or oral bioavailability limitations, creating a structural opening for orally bioavailable macrocyclic peptides.
The orally bioavailable macrocyclic peptide category for cardiovascular disease is small but intensifying. Merck's enlicitide (MK-0616) is the clinical pacesetter: an oral macrocyclic peptide PCSK9 inhibitor with positive pivotal Phase 3 readouts in 2025 across the CORALreef Lipids, CORALreef HeFH, and CORALreef AddOn trials, positioned as an oral alternative to injectable PCSK9 monoclonals (Amgen's Repatha/evolocumab, Regeneron/Sanofi's Praluent/alirocumab) and PCSK9 siRNA (Novartis' Leqvio/inclisiran). Platform-stage peers developing macrocycle pipelines include Orbis Medicines (Novo Holdings-backed; Novo Nordisk partnership), Vilya (ARCH Ventures), Circle Pharma (AbbVie/Takeda/BMS partnerships for oncology macrocycles), and Ra Pharmaceuticals' legacy cyclic peptide platform (now UCB). Unnatural Products itself has parallel deals with argenx (summer 2025, $1.5B for immunology) and Merck predating the Novartis cardiovascular pact. Differentiation levers include oral bioavailability, target breadth (intracellular PPIs), and AI-driven lead optimization speed.
One month after the Novartis macrocyclic-peptide collaboration, Unnatural Products closed a $45M Series B led by The Venture Collective (with argenx, Droia Ventures, Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, Artis Ventures, First Spark Ventures) to advance its AI-enhanced macrocycle platform and pipeline. Independent validation of the platform; Novartis deal terms unchanged.
| Deal | Year | Value | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Novartis AG / Unnatural Products, Inc. (this deal) | 2026 | $1.8B | — |
| 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: 2026 deals · Novartis AG deals · Cardiovascular deals