A little-known London cancer biotech has delivered a major payday for Australian retirement savers, thanks to a multibillion-dollar deal with Novartis. The Swiss pharmaceutical group has agreed to acquire early-stage cancer therapy company Myricx in a transaction valued at more than $2 billion.
Australia’s largest life science venture fund, Brandon Capital, stands at the centre of the deal. Its superannuation fund backers now share in one of the richest exits seen for a pre-clinical biotech.
Novartis is paying $US1.1 billion, or about $1.6 billion, in cash upfront for Myricx, with a further $US400 million tied to development milestones. The target is a London-based biotech focused on early-stage cancer therapies, not yet in human trials.
Brandon Capital, together with investors including Hostplus, HESTA, Aware Super, CSL and Queensland government fund QIC, is expected to collect more than $300 million. Cash makes up more than 73% of the total potential deal value, which is unusually generous for a company at this stage.
Biotech investors typically wait years for clinical data before any meaningful return, so the structure of this deal stands out. Large drug makers usually stagger payments heavily towards future milestones to manage scientific and regulatory risk.
Novartis is locking in most of the consideration upfront, showing strong conviction in Myricx’s cancer platform despite its pre-clinical status. That approach effectively transfers a greater share of the development risk from venture and super funds to the pharma buyer.
Local retirement savings are increasingly exposed to global healthcare innovation through specialist Australian funds. Superannuation backers of Brandon Capital gain a substantial realised return, rather than paper gains that depend on trial results years away.
Competition is growing among big pharma for promising cancer technologies at very early stages, which is driving richer upfront terms.
