Matchpoint Therapeutics Enters into Agreement with Novartis to Develop Oral Treatments for Inflammatory Diseases
Friday, July 25, 2025
Matchpoint Therapeutics has entered into an exclusive option and licence agreement with Novartis to develop and commercialise oral covalent inhibitors aimed at treating various inflammatory diseases.
The collaboration focuses on a transcription factor that has been difficult to target using traditional drug development methods.
The partnership builds on Matchpoint’s platform, which uses covalent chemistry to precisely inhibit protein functions involved in triggering inflammation. By targeting a novel binding site on a previously hard-to-drug protein, the approach aims to reduce the production of inflammatory molecules such as cytokines and chemokines.
Under the terms of the agreement, Matchpoint will use its Advanced Covalent Exploration (ACE)™ platform to lead the preclinical work through to the selection of a development candidate. During this period, Novartis will provide research funding. If Novartis exercises its option to licence the programme, it will gain global rights to develop and commercialise any resulting products.
The deal could be worth up to $1 billion for Matchpoint, including development and commercial milestone payments, along with tiered royalties on future product sales.
The collaboration reflects both companies’ interest in advancing new therapies for inflammatory and autoimmune conditions.
Source: matchpointtx.com
