Argo Biopharma Enters into Agreement with Novartis for Cardiovascular Therapies
Friday, September 05, 2025
Argo Biopharmaceutical has entered into a new strategic collaboration with Novartis for multiple cardiovascular assets.
Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, with more than 20 million deaths reported in 2021. siRNA-based therapies are seen as an emerging approach with the potential to improve treatment outcomes and patient adherence. Argo continues to build its global discovery and development capabilities across Asia, the United States, and Europe to advance differentiated therapies for cardiovascular conditions.
This marks the third agreement between the two companies and builds on their existing partnership.
The latest agreements give Novartis an option to license rights outside China for two early-stage molecules aimed at treating severe hypertriglyceridaemia (sHTG) and mixed dyslipidaemia. Novartis also holds first negotiation rights for BW-00112 (ANGPTL3), a therapy currently in Phase II trials in the United States and China.
In addition, both companies have agreed to share profit and loss in selected regions for another hepatic-delivered siRNA candidate now in preclinical development.
Under the terms of the deal, Argo will receive an upfront payment of 160 million US dollars and could secure milestone and option payments worth up to 5.2 billion US dollars, along with tiered royalties on future sales. Novartis has also indicated an interest in taking part in Argo’s next equity financing round, subject to further discussions.
This therapy is expected to enter Phase I trials across several countries in 2026. Novartis will take ex-China rights with an option to participate in China, while Argo will hold a reciprocal option in the US.
Source: argobiopharma.com
