No­var­tis to buy Mor­phoSys for $2.9B af­ter 20 years of cre­at­ing an­ti­bod­ies with the Ger­man biotech

No­var­tis inked a deal to buy Mor­phoSys for $2.9 bil­lion, in a move that gives the Swiss Big Phar­ma a can­cer drug on the verge of reg­u­la­to­ry fil­ings and wraps a wind­ing road for the Ger­man biotech.

It marks a long time com­ing for a duo that has col­lab­o­rat­ed since at least 2004, when they lined up a can­cer pact. Then, in 2007, they formed a 10-year, $600 mil­lion deal to cre­ate ther­a­peu­tic an­ti­bod­ies. Their col­lab­o­ra­tion yield­ed ianalum­ab, which is in mul­ti­ple Phase III stud­ies in var­i­ous au­toim­mune dis­eases and has block­buster po­ten­tial.

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