Novartis has signed a global exclusive licence with China-based BoomRay Pharmaceuticals for a preclinical radioligand therapy, paying up to USD 900 million in upfront, development, regulatory and sales milestones plus royalties on future global net sales, in a deal that extends Novartis' strategy of sourcing external radio conjugate innovation while keeping late-stage development and commercialisation in-house.

Founded in December 2018, BoomRay brings discovery and development capabilities across an oncology-focused radioligand pipeline, while Novartis oncology research head Shiva Malek called radioligand therapy a major oncology frontier.