Novartis Acquires Immunotherapy Firm

In an effort to broaden its cancer immunotherapy research program, Novartis has acquired Cambridge, Mass.-based CoStim Pharmaceuticals, a privately held company focused on therapies that leverage the immune system to eliminate immune blocking signals from cancer cells. Financial details were not disclosed. Novartis is already involved in cancer immunotherapy research, developing a chimeric antigen receptor technology in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania. The acquisition of CoStim will add late-stage programs directed to several targets, including programmed cell death protein 1, known as PD-1.