Novartis Licenses Preclinical Radioligand Therapy Asset From China's BoomRay in Deal Worth Up to $900M
核心洞察
BoomRay Pharmaceuticals (搜索) has granted Novartis exclusive worldwide rights to an undisclosed preclinical radioligand therapy asset, with the deal potentially worth up to USD 900 million.
The agreement includes an undisclosed upfront payment plus development, regulatory and sales milestones, with royalties on future global net sales also possible.
Neither the asset's molecular target, isotope nor indication was disclosed, and the announcement does not specify which party will lead development.
Novartis Pharma AG has secured exclusive worldwide rights to a preclinical radioligand therapy (RLT) asset from Suzhou, China-based BoomRay Pharmaceuticals (搜索) Co., Ltd., under a global license agreement announced Sept. 22, 2026. The deal could pay BoomRay up to USD 900 million, comprising an undisclosed upfront payment plus development, regulatory and sales milestone payments, with royalties also possible on future global net sales.
BoomRay confirmed that an upfront payment exists within the USD 900 million total, though the exact figure was not separately disclosed. No equity component was mentioned. The agreement grants Novartis exclusive worldwide rights, including in China. Development responsibility was not explicitly allocated in the announcement, and the press release does not indicate which party will lead development.
Undisclosed Asset, Undisclosed Target
Few scientific details were released. BoomRay described the program only as a preclinical radioligand therapy, and the asset's target, isotope and indication were not disclosed. The company said the agreement brings together its discovery and development capabilities with Novartis's global expertise in the RLT space.
"This agreement marks a significant milestone for BoomRay and is a strong validation of our discovery and development capabilities," said Bo Shan, Chief Executive Officer of BoomRay. "We believe this agreement with Novartis will unlock the full potential of this asset and accelerate its path to patients worldwide."
Shiva Malek, Global Head of Oncology, Biomedical Research at Novartis, said radioligand therapies represent an important frontier in oncology and that the agreement complements the company's growing RLT portfolio. "Our agreement with BoomRay complements our growing radioligand therapy portfolio and reflects our strategy of combining external innovation with our cutting-edge research and development capabilities," Malek said.
BFC Group acted as financial advisor to BoomRay.
How Radioligand Therapy Works
Radioligand therapy combines a targeting compound, known as a ligand, that binds to a specific marker, with a radioisotope that delivers radiation directly to cancer cells, including those that have spread throughout the body, while limiting exposure to healthy tissue. BoomRay is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing RLTs for precision oncology diagnostics and therapeutics, with integrated capabilities spanning candidate discovery, radiochemistry and clinical translation. The company says its proprietary RLT pipeline is being advanced with first-in-class or best-in-class potential.
Novartis's Expanding RLT Footprint
RLT has been a core oncology platform for Novartis since its 2018 acquisitions of Advanced Accelerator Applications, which brought Lutathera (lutetium-177 dotatate), and Endocyte (搜索), which brought the program that became Pluvicto (lutetium-177 vipivotide tetraxetan (搜索)). Novartis paid USD 3.9 billion for Advanced Accelerator Applications and USD 2.1 billion for Endocyte.
The company has continued investing in the technology. In 2024, it agreed to buy Mariana Oncology (搜索) for USD 1 billion upfront plus up to USD 750 million in milestones, adding a preclinical radioligand pipeline and research infrastructure. Novartis is also developing next-generation approaches, including actinium-225-based therapies.
The BoomRay transaction follows a separate January 2026 deal in which Novartis licensed an undisclosed preclinical peptide-based RLT asset from China-based Zonsen PepLib Biotech (搜索) for USD 50 million upfront, plus undisclosed development, regulatory and sales milestones and tiered royalties. Together, the two transactions give Novartis worldwide rights to separate early-stage RLT programs originating from Chinese biotechs within the space of nine months.
Novartis is also expanding its RLT infrastructure in China, where it has invested more than CNY 600 million in a manufacturing facility expected to begin operations by the end of 2026.