SNAPSHOT

Pfizer makes a $530M vaccine deal for Novavax's Matrix-M tech

Pfizer is paying Novavax $30M upfront, and up to $500M more in milestones, to use its Matrix-M adjuvant tech in two vaccine programs.

Why it matters: The deal signals Pfizer's push to revive its underperforming vaccine portfolio and marks a turnaround opportunity for Novavax after past setbacks.

Backstory: Matrix-M, Novavax’s proprietary adjuvant, boosts immune response and has already been licensed by Sanofi. Pfizer’s vaccine sales have recently slumped, with key shots like Comirnaty and Abrysvo seeing year-over-year declines.

Big picture: As vaccine demand softens, especially in the U.S., pharma giants are leaning on innovative tech and strategic partnerships to differentiate future products and reignite growth.

Zoom in: Pfizer gains nonexclusive rights to use Matrix-M for two disease areas. In exchange, Novavax stands to earn $30M upfront and up to $500M in development/sales milestones as well as tiered royalties in the high mid-single-digit range on product sales. Novavax has emphasized partnerships like this one as central to its growth strategy.

What's next: Novavax is rebounding from a tough 2024, when its programs were paused due to a nerve disease case in a clinical trial. While Pfizer hasn't disclosed which diseases it's targeting, Novavax will receive royalties when vaccines reach the market.

SNIPPETS

What’s happening in biotech today?

🚪 Diabetes exit: Novo Nordisk has transferred its discontinued diabetes cell therapy assets to Aspect Biosystems, following a strategic retreat from cell and gene therapies under new CEO Maziar Mike Doustdar. The deal allows Aspect to acquire rights to Novo’s stem-cell-derived islet cell and hypoimmune cell engineering technologies, while Novo retains an option to re-engage in later-stage development and commercialization. Building on their 2023 partnership, Novo will support Aspect through investment and research funding, remaining eligible for royalties and milestones. Aspect will also integrate Novo’s R&D and manufacturing capabilities from Denmark and the U.S. into its Canadian operations, securing the future of these therapies.

🇨🇳 China deal: Insilico Medicine has entered a $66 million licensing deal with newly formed Chinese biotech Hygtia Therapeutics for joint rights to ISM8969, a preclinical NLRP3 inhibitor targeting Parkinson’s disease. Insilico will receive a $10 million upfront payment and up to $56 million in milestones, while leading early development through phase 1, after which Hygtia will assume responsibility for further studies and commercialization. Discovered via Insilico’s AI-driven Chemistry42 platform, ISM8969 has shown strong preclinical efficacy, safety, and blood-brain barrier penetration. The deal supports Hygtia’s strategy to build a neuroscience pipeline and reflects rising interest in NLRP3 inhibitors for neuroinflammatory diseases.

💰Buyout boost: Kuva Labs is acquiring Lisata Therapeutics to gain full ownership of certepetide, a phase 2-stage cyclic peptide drug being studied for several solid tumors, including pancreatic, cholangiocarcinoma, and appendiceal cancers. Certepetide enhances drug delivery by undergoing protease-mediated cleavage in tumors, creating a C-end Rule (CendR) peptide that facilitates transport across tumor stroma. Kuva, which has licensed certepetide since 2024 for use with its NanoMark imaging platform, will pay $4 per Lisata share, an 85% premium, with an additional $2 per share contingent on reacquiring Chinese rights and submitting the drug for approval. The acquisition marks a strategic expansion into therapeutic development.

🏆 Trial win: Tanabe Pharma America's oral drug dersimelagon (MT-7117) has met the primary endpoint in a phase 3 trial for erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) and X-linked protoporphyria (XLP), rare genetic disorders causing extreme sensitivity to sunlight. The Inspire study enrolled 165 patients aged 12 to 75 and assessed the time to onset and severity of early phototoxic symptoms, showing that dersimelagon significantly improved outcomes compared to placebo, though detailed data were not disclosed. The drug also demonstrated a favorable safety profile. Backed by FDA fast track and orphan designations, Tanabe plans to continue developing dersimelagon as a novel treatment for these underserved conditions.

✂️ Staff cuts: IO Biotech is considering additional layoffs just four months after cutting half its workforce, as it explores strategic alternatives following setbacks with its cancer vaccine Cylembio. The company faced a major blow in September when the FDA advised against a planned submission, after the vaccine failed to outperform Merck’s Keytruda in a phase 3 melanoma trial. Despite initial plans to pursue European approval and discuss a new U.S. trial, IO has not disclosed any updates from a scheduled FDA meeting. With $31 million remaining in cash, the biotech is now weighing options including mergers, asset sales, liquidation, or further cost reductions.

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