Novartis signed a research and licensing agreement with Unnatural Products (UNP) to access UNP’s AI‑guided macrocyclic peptide discovery platform in a collaboration that could generate up to $1.7–1.8 billion. Novartis will apply the platform to cardiovascular targets, combining UNP’s design, parallel synthesis and direct‑to‑biology screening with Novartis’ development and commercialization engine. UNP framed macrocycles as a modality that can tackle previously undruggable targets with oral and injectable formats. Novartis committed $100 million in upfront and pre‑IND milestone payments, and both parties emphasized the deal couples AI‑led design with high‑throughput chemistry to accelerate candidate selection. The agreement highlights big pharma’s continued appetite for platform buys and AI‑augmented discovery engines.