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Imperial College London spinout Myricx Bio to be acquired by Novartis for up to $1.5 billion

Myricx Bio, a cancer therapy spinout from Imperial’s Department of Chemistry, has reached agreement to be acquired by Novartis – based in White City Innovation District and part of the WestTech London ecosystem – for up to $1.5 billion. The proposed deal, which includes $1.1 billion cash upfront plus potential milestone payments, represents the highest-value acquisition of any Imperial spinout company to date.

Founded in 2019, Myricx Bio was created to build on research into N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) carried out by founders Professor Ed Tate, Dr. Andrew Bell and Dr. Roberto Solari in Imperial’s Department of Chemistry and The Francis Crick Institute, with key support from Cancer Research UK (CRUK).

Since then, the company has transformed its deep expertise in NMT biology and chemistry into the discovery and development of new treatments for a range of different tumour types through a novel class of payloads for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).

In 2024, Myricx Bio raised £90 million in investment – one of the largest Series A rounds ever raised by a European academic biotech spinout. Myricx’s Chief Scientific Officer Francesca Zammarchi was formerly part of the team at ADC Therpeutics, also founded in White City Innovation District.

Professor Hugh Brady, President of Imperial College London, said: “This proposed acquisition is a real testament to the strength of Imperial’s research and entrepreneurial ecosystem. Spinouts are a key part of translating Imperial’s world leading research into real-world impact as part of our Science for Humanity strategy, and we are proud to have supported Myricx Bio throughout their journey.”

Professor Ed Tate, GSK Chair in Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, and co-founder of Myricx Bio said: “The proposed acquisition by Novartis is further validation of a long-running scientific programme on NMT that began over 20 years ago. Research that began with NMT in malaria parasites developed over the years into potential cancer treatments, and it is fantastic to now see these programmes backed by a major pharmaceutical partner with extensive oncology experience.”

Full story and more details on the Imperial website.

Senior team from Myricx Bio pic turned in white lab coats.
Myricx Bio team pictured from L-R: Co-Founder Dr Andrew Bell; Co-Founder Dr Roberto Solari; Co-Founder Professor Ed Tate; Chief Technology Office Dr Robin Carr
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