Novartis bets $750M on ProFound's next-gen heart drugs

Novartis inked a four-year deal with Flagship Pioneering’s ProFound Therapeutics to discover cardiovascular protein therapies, committing up to $750M per target, plus royalties and $25M upfront.

• Why it matters: This signals Novartis’ aggressive push to find next-generation cardiovascular treatments as key revenue drivers like Entresto face generic threats.

Backstory: ProFound uses its AI-powered ProFoundry platform to mine the human proteome for novel proteins. It's the latest Flagship startup to strike a major partnership with Novartis, following Generate:Biomedicines up-to-$1B deal.

• Partnership scope: Novartis and ProFound will collaborate on discovering protein-based drugs. The total number of targets remains undisclosed, but each carries up to $750M in downstream payments.

Big picture: With rising competition in cardiology and patent cliffs looming, Novartis is leaning into early-stage biotech innovation and AI to sustain leadership in cardiovascular care.

• Strategic context: Novartis’ flagship heart drug Entresto earned $7.8B in 2024 but now faces generic threats. Leqvio, its siRNA cholesterol drug, and abelacimab, a Phase 3 blood thinner acquired for $3.1B from Anthos Therapeutics in early 2025, are central to its next growth phase.