Novartis Locks In mRNA Rights and a Fresh FDA Approval Ahead of Late-October Results
Published on 10/09/2026 at 07:30 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Novartis has spent the past week stacking up pipeline milestones on both sides of the Atlantic, giving investors plenty to digest before quarterly figures land on 27 October 2026. The Basel-based drugmaker confirmed a licensing and option agreement with Abogen Biosciences that hands it worldwide rights to ABO2203, an mRNA-based candidate, along with options on additional development programmes. Under the terms reported by Reuters, Novartis pays $575 million upfront and could owe as much as $7.2 billion in milestone payments tied to development and approval.
The deal, struck earlier this month, deepens the company's footprint in mRNA therapeutics — an area where it has been building capacity through external partnerships rather than purely in-house work.
FDA Green Light for Rhapsido
Regulatory progress arrived midweek, when the US Food and Drug Administration approved Rhapsido, whose active ingredient is remibrutinib, for adults with symptomatic dermographism. The indication covers patients whose symptoms are not adequately controlled by H1 antihistamines. It marks the first specifically approved therapy for this condition and stretches remibrutinib's use beyond chronic spontaneous urticaria, where it was already established.
Remibrutinib's profile is set to come under closer scrutiny later this month. Novartis has scheduled a presentation of late-stage data from the Phase III REMODEL-1 and REMODEL-2 trials for 23 October, with a virtual investor event to follow immediately afterwards covering the detailed findings and their therapeutic implications.
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Multiple Sclerosis Data Blitz
Those readouts form part of a broader showing at MSToronto2026, where the group plans to unveil 46 abstracts from its multiple sclerosis portfolio. Alongside the remibrutinib results, new findings on Kesimpta are also on the agenda.
On the commercial side, Novartis has enlisted DKSH to handle distribution, marketing and billing services for its ophthalmology portfolio in Singapore, adding another layer to its regional footprint.
Analysts Trim Targets, Keep Faith
Morgan Stanley's Thibault Boutherin adjusted his price target on Tuesday, cutting it to $156 from $170 while leaving the stock rated "Overweight" — a signal that the bank still sees upside despite the lower number. The revision came as part of a broader risk-reward update.
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Trading in Europe has been steady. The shares closed Thursday at EUR 126.98, down 0.8% on the day, and are up 7.4% since the start of the year. Even so, the stock sits roughly 12% below its 52-week high.
With the third-quarter report now less than a month away, attention will turn to how these pipeline commitments — and the upfront cash outlay for ABO2203 — feed through to the earnings picture.
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