Novartis began a research-and-license collaboration with Unnatural Products to apply UNP’s AI‑guided macrocyclic peptide platform to cardiovascular targets, with total deal value up to $1.8 billion. Novartis will lead IND‑enabling work and global development while UNP’s discovery engine will supply candidate macrocycles optimized for previously intractable targets. The agreement follows earlier industry interest in macrocycles as a modality bridging small molecules and biologics. The deal includes an initial $100 million commitment and underscores big‑pharma appetite for platform partnerships that promise rapid, target‑agnostic hit generation.