Argenx announced plans to acquire Unnatural Products in a deal valued at up to about $1.15 billion, bringing the Santa Cruz biotech’s macrocyclic peptide technology in-house. Argenx will pay $550 million upfront in cash, with additional contingent value rights tied to development and regulatory milestones. Unnatural Products will continue operating as a dedicated macrocyclic peptide discovery hub under Argenx, preserving a platform designed for oral and long-acting medicines. The acquisition follows a research collaboration between the two companies and extends Argenx’s platform strategy beyond antibody engineering. The deal also includes an earlier commercial-finance relationship: Argenx previously joined Unnatural Products’ $45 million Series B, positioning the two teams for scale-up of pipeline creation from discovery to clinic. For the biotech sector, this acquisition underscores continued investor and corporate focus on peptide therapeutics that aim to combine biologic-like targeting with small-molecule-like delivery formats, particularly for immune-mediated diseases.