Novartis agreed to acquire Myricx Bio in a deal worth up to $1.5 billion, aiming to expand its antibody-drug conjugate pipeline with a differentiated payload approach. The Swiss company will pay $1.1 billion upfront and up to $400 million in milestones, with closing expected in the second half of 2026. Myricx’s preclinical platform uses N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) inhibitors as ADC payloads rather than conventional chemotherapy warheads. Novartis says the payload mechanism is designed to address resistance and broaden ADC use across multiple solid tumor settings, with lead assets aimed at HER2 and B7-H3. Industry attention will likely focus on whether NMT inhibitor payloads can deliver durable tumor regression where current ADC payload classes face limits—an area of intense competition as multiple companies race to differentiate ADCs beyond target selection and linker chemistry.