Pharmaceutical firm Novartis is set to make an equity investment in US-based cancer immunotherapy developer Surface Oncology as part of a broad strategic collaboration agreement worth up to $170m.
The agreement will involve the companies collaborating on immunotherapeutics that will target the tumour micro-environment as well as the interface of innate and adaptive immunity.
Novartis will be able to access Surface’s cancer immunotherapy pipeline, securing an exclusive worldwide license for its lead program and options to license up to three more programs from its existing portfolio.
Surface is eligible for up to $170m in equity, upfront and near-term milestone payments through the deal.
Detlev Biniszkiewicz, chief executive of Surface Oncology, said: “This strategic collaboration reflects our shared commitment to innovation in cancer immunotherapy beyond checkpoint inhibitors.
“It fuels our pipeline, provides the option to co-develop and co-commercialise half of the partnership programs, and allows us to further build value as an independent company as we also pursue new programs outside of the collaboration.”
Novartis previously invested in Surface as part of its $35m series A round in January 2015, participating through its Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research subsidiary.
The series A round also included Lilly Ventures and Amgen Ventures, the respective corporate venturing vehicles of pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilly and Amgen, as well as Atlas Venture, which supplied Surface’s seed funding in 2014, Fidelity Biosciences, New Enterprise Associates and Elliott Sigal.