Novartis has agreed an exclusive option for Transgene’s targeted immunotherapy product TG4010, in return for a non-refundable fee of $10 million. If Novartis exercises the option for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer and other indications when phase IIb/III trial results are available, Transgene will be set to receive over $360 million in milestone payments plus royalties on global sales. Transgene will retain selected co-promotion rights.

This deal is one of numerous options deals pursued by Novartis and its Venture Fund so far in 2010. It marks a clear direction in the company’s deal-making strategy as it seeks to populate its portfolio with multiple option opportunities whilst limiting exposure to costly partnering arrangements.

option partnering is currently a hot topic in dealmaking – you can read more in our report Option and Evaluation Agreements in Pharma and Biotech