Calypso Biotech to be acquired by Novartis for $250m
Betsy Goodfellow | January 8, 2024 | News story | Business Services | Calypso Biotech, Immunology, Novartis, acquisition
Calypso Biotech has announced that it has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Novartis. The company’s shareholders will receive an initial upfront payment of $250m upon the closing of the agreement, as well as development milestone payments up to $175m based on the achievement of some pre-decided milestones.
Calypso has a focus on the research and development of monoclonal antibodies for a variety of autoimmune indications, specialising in IL-15 biology.
Calypso’s lead candidate, CALY-002, is a “potential best-in-class therapeutic antibody that binds to and neutralises intraleukin-15,” according to the company’s press release. Novartis will have full rights to this candidate following the acquisition, intending to further explore CALY-002 across other autoimmune indications with high unmet medical needs. The drug candidate is currently in a phase 1b trial assessing its efficacy in patients with Coeliac Disease and Eosinophilic Esophagitis.
Alain Vicari, chief executive officer and co-founder at Calypso, commented: “We are excited for this transaction with Novartis, a company with relentless commitment to the development of innovative therapies for autoimmune conditions. As part of the Novartis portfolio, CALY-002 is in the best position to be developed effectively, so that it can promptly address unmet medical needs in multiple indications”
Richared Siegel, head of immunology research at Novartis, added: “Novartis is committed to bringing innovative treatment options forward for patients living with immunological diseases. We’re thrilled to add Calypso’s potential best-in-class antibody to our Immunology pipeline and explore it in a spectrum of autoimmune indications.”
Betsy Goodfellow
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