Novartis is to expand its role in the treatment of allergies with the acquisition of a US company specialising in therapies for diseases driven by immunoglobulin E (IgE). The target company, Excellergy Inc, was only launched in October 2025, but with Red Tree Venture Capital as a seed investor and scientists from Stanford University, US, and the University of Bern, Switzerland, working in the background, it has produced a monoclonal antibody that is already in Phase 1.
Novartis is to pay up to $2 billion in upfront and milestone fees for the company which has technology for directly removing IgE from allergic effector cells without triggering their activation. This is considered an advance from the current generation of allergy therapeutics, including Xolair (omalizumab), an allergy drug co-developed by Novartis and Genentech of the Roche Group. Xolair was first approved in the US in 2003 for moderate-to-severe asthma and is losing its patent protection.
Commenting on the acquisition, Fiona Marshall, head of biomedical research at Novartis, said that Excellergy “adds a differentiated next-generation anti-IgE programme that builds on biology Novartis knows well, supported by preclinical evidence and early clinical pharmacokinetic data.” According to an article in the February 2026 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Exl-111 has shown pre-clinical efficacy in three distinct ways. First, it can directly remove IgE already bound to allergic effector cells without triggering activation. Second, it can intercept and neutralise circulating IgE to prevent the re-arming of cells. And third, it can drive receptor down-regulation to control allergic sensitivity.
Novartis said the acquisition is expected to complete in the second half of 2026.
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