Blackstone to Sell Anthos Therapeutics to Novartis for Up to $3.1B 

Blackstone Life Sciences has announced that Novartis will acquire Anthos Therapeutics for up to $3.1 billion, including a $925 million upfront payment, with additional payments of up to $2.15 billion tied to regulatory and commercial milestones. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2025. 

Anthos Therapeutics, a Boston-based company founded in 2019 by Blackstone and Novartis, is advancing its clinical pipeline with abelacimab, a novel factor XI inhibitor. Abelacimab is being developed for two critical indications: stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation and blood clot prevention in cancer patients. 

One of the most promising results for abelacimab comes from the AZALEA-TIMI 71 trial, where the drug demonstrated significant advantages over the standard anticoagulant rivaroxaban, the companies said. Notably, abelacimab achieved a 62% reduction in major bleeding compared to rivaroxaban, a key benefit in managing the safety profile of anticoagulant therapies. As a result of the strong performance, the trial was discontinued early. The trial results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in January. 

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is acting as the lead financial advisor to Anthos. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is also serving as a financial advisor, and Goodwin Procter LLP is serving as legal advisor to Anthos.