Novartis Announces Acquisition of DTx Pharma

Image Credit: Adobe Stock Images/Natee Meepian

With an upfront payment of $500 million, Novartis has revealed its acquisition of DTx Pharma, a preclinical stage biotechnology company focused on leveraging its branded falcon platform to develop siRNA therapies for neuroscience indications. As part of the deal, Novartis plans to apply DTx-1252, the biotech’s lead program, to target the root cause of CMT1A—the overexpression of PMP22, a protein that causes the myelin sheath that supports and insulates nerves in the peripheral nervous system to function abnormally.

“We look forward to continuing the development of DTx’s therapeutic programs and bringing new hope to patients with neuromuscular and other neurological disorders for which there have historically been few treatment options,” said Fiona Marshall, President, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR), in a company press release. “We are also excited to bring DTx’s FALCON technology to Novartis and explore its potential to deliver drugs to extrahepatic tissues.”

Reference: Novartis builds on neuroscience pipeline and xRNA platform capabilities with acquisition of DTx Pharma. Novartis. July 17, 2023. Accessed July 18, 2023. https://www.novartis.com/news/media-releases/novartis-builds-neuroscience-pipeline-and-xrna-platform-capabilities-acquisition-dtx-pharma