Antares entered a discovery and commercialization collaboration with Novartis to pursue small-molecule medicines against oncology targets previously viewed as difficult to drug. Antares will receive $105 million upfront, with milestone payments up to $1.8 billion and tiered royalties on global net sales. The deal leverages Antares’ covalent drug discovery engine, combining screening libraries, chemical proteomics, structure-driven computational chemistry, and machine-learning tools. Antares will lead research across selected targets, while Novartis holds option rights tied to program selection. The agreement highlights continued capital flow into platform-led chemistry efforts aimed at expanding access to “undruggable” target classes, with financial upside structured to tie payments to progression and commercialization.