Artios Pharma, based on the Babraham Research Campus in Cambridge, has clinched a megabucks deal with Novartis that is worth at least $1.5 billion and promises fresh assaults on cancers.

The three-year collaboration is designed to create next generation DNA Damage Response (DDR) cancer therapies.

Novartis will leverage Artios’ discovery platform to identify DDR targets for use with Novartis’ proprietary radioligand therapies. Artios will receive a $20 million up-front payment in addition to near term research funding to support the collaboration.

Artios is eligible to receive up to $1.3bn in discovery, development, regulatory and sales-based milestones in addition to royalty payments.

Under the deal, Artios and Novartis will perform target discovery and validation and Novartis will select up to three exclusive DDR targets and receive worldwide rights on these targets to be utilised with its Radioligand Therapy technology.

Dr Niall Martin, CEO at Artios Pharma, said: “This collaboration expands the reach of our discovery platform, leveraging our DDR expertise and target knowledge to enhance the potential of radioligand therapies. 

“We are thrilled to work with Novartis, and this combined with our recent collaboration with Merck KGaA, provides important validation of the power of the internal discovery capabilities at Artios. 

“From a strategic perspective, this collaboration is an ideal fit which maximises the application of our platform to areas beyond our current focus as we independently advance our pipeline of novel DDR candidates. 

“We look forward to continued momentum as a clinical-stage precision medicine company, building upon our recently initiated Phase 1 study of ART0380, our potential best-in-class ATR inhibitor, with the expected entry of our first-in-class Pol Theta program into the clinic before year end.”

The collaboration does not include Artios’ lead programs, ART0380, which is currently in clinical development, or ART4215, a first-in-class Pol Theta inhibitor.