The deal will give Novartis full rights to an antibody Calypso is working on to treat various autoimmune diseases.
Calypso Biotech, a Dutch company developing treatments for autoimmune diseases, has entered an agreement to be acquired by pharma giant Novartis.
The deal will give Calypso shareholders an upfront payment of $250m and they will also be eligible to receive an extra $175m, depending on the achievement of certain predetermined milestones.
The start-up is working on novel treatments for autoimmune diseases such as coeliac disease. Its flagship product – CALY-002 – is a humanised monoclonal antibody that suppresses a signalling protein named Interleukin-15. This antibody is currently being trialled in patients with coeliac disease and eosinophilic esophagitis – an allergic condition that happens in the esophagus.
The acquisition will give Novartis full rights to CALY-002. The pharma giant intends to further explore this treatment across a wide variety of autoimmune indications with high unmet medical need.
“We are excited for this transaction with Novartis, a company with relentless commitment to the development of innovative therapies for autoimmune conditions,” said Calypso CEO and co-founder Alain Vicari. “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.”
Calypso Biotech is a spin-out from Merck and was launched in 2013. In 2021, Fountain Healthcare Partners, the Irish life sciences venture capital firm, was part of an €8m extension to a 2019 Series A funding round, which brought the total raised in the round to $28m.
“This deal is an excellent outcome for Novartis and Calypso Biotech, as well as for Fountain Healthcare Partners, our investors, and most importantly patients with auto-immune diseases who could potentiality benefit from this therapy,” said Fountain Healthcare partner Ena Prosser.
Recently, DeepMind spin-out Isomorphic Labs signed deals with Novartis and Eli Lilly to discover new drugs, which could lead to billions in profit for the company.
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