Novartis acquisition of oncology biotech delivers major exit for Australian VC firm

Australia’s largest life sciences venture capital firm, Brandon Capital, has completed the successful exit of portfolio biotech company Myricx Bio following the company’s agreement to be acquired by Novartis in a transaction valued at up to US$1.5 billion (A$2.16 billion).

Myricx Bio is a UK-based pre-clinical oncology company developing a novel class of payloads for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), one of the most significant emerging modalities in cancer treatment. The acquisition brings together Novartis’ global oncology expertise with Myricx Bio’s two lead ADC assets and its next-generation N-myristoyltransferase inhibitor (NMTi) payload platform, which has potential applications across multiple solid tumour settings.

Dr Jonathan Tobin, Myricx Bio Director and Partner at Brandon Capital, said “This acquisition by Novartis is a testament to the phenomenal work of Myricx Bio’s founders and management, and a powerful validation of Brandon Capital’s approach of backing world-class science before it is obvious to others.”

Brandon Capital played a foundational role in the creation of Myricx Bio, which was spun out from Imperial College London and the Francis Crick Institute. The company was co-founded by Brandon Capital Venture Partner Dr Roberto Solari, who served as Myricx Bio’s founding CEO, with Brandon Capital joining as a joint founding seed investor in 2019.

Brandon Capital Managing Partner Dr Stephen Thompson led the firm’s investment in Myricx Bio, providing strategic and operational support through the company’s capital-efficient early development phase and subsequent financing rounds. The firm maintained a substantial shareholding through to the acquisition, which was led by Myricx Bio CEO Mohit Rawat.

“Building biotech companies from early-stage concepts into medicines that improve patients’ lives takes time, conviction and, of course capital. Brandon Capital recognised the potential of NMT inhibition early, and has been a highly supportive investor, enabling us to have advanced NMTi-ADCs with the promise as an entirely new class of cancer therapeutics,” said Rawat.

The exit is expected to deliver a significant return for Brandon Capital’s investors, including Australian superannuation funds Hostplus, HESTA and Aware Super, as well as CSL and QIC. The Myricx Bio transaction builds on Brandon Capital’s growing record of generating strong returns through both early- and mid-stage exits, while continuing to support companies through the pathway towards commercialisation.

“Myricx Bio encapsulates the kind of company we exist to build: a bold, potentially first-in-class therapeutic platform with the promise to deliver both exceptional investor returns and meaningful benefit for patients,” said Dr Thompson. “This exit positions the firm well to continue attracting capital to support our existing portfolio and to back the next generation of breakthrough biomedical companies.”

In reimagining healthcare across the entire patient journey, Health Industry Hub^TM is the only one-stop-hub uniting the diversity of the Pharma, MedTech, Diagnostics & Biotech sectors to inspire meaningful change.

The Health Industry Hub^TM content is copyright protected. Access is available under individual user licenses. Please click here to subscribe and visit T&Cs here.