Novartis announces planned acquisition of Endocyte

Novartis to acquire Endocyte to accelerate development of innovative radioligand technology for treating cancer. Acquisition would add ¹⁷⁷ Lu-PSMA-617, a potential first-in-class radioligand therapy in Phase III development for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) - Endocyte offers radiopharmaceutical programs with significant sales potential Basel, October 18, 2018 - Novartis today announced that it has entered into an agreement and plan of merger with Endocyte, a US-based biopharmaceutical company focused on developing targeted therapeutics for cancer treatment. Under the terms of the agreement, Novartis would acquire all outstanding shares of Endocyte common stock for USD 24 per share. This offer values Endocyte's equity at USD 2.1 billion. Endocyte uses drug conjugation technology to develop targeted therapies with companion imaging agents, including ¹⁷⁷Lu-PSMA-617, a potential first-in-class investigational radioligand therapy (RLT) for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). ¹⁷⁷Lu-PSMA-617 targets the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), present in the majority of patients with mCRPC, and has shown promising Phase II data. ¹⁷⁷Lu-PSMA-617 is currently being investigated in the Phase III global VISION clinical trial in men with mCRPC, a disease with limited treatment options and significant unmet medical need.