Novartis, a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company, agreed to acquire Cadent Therapeutics, a privately held clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, for $770m. Upon the closing of the agreement, Cadent will receive a $210m upfront payment and will be eligible for up to $560m in milestone payments. The transaction has been approved by the board of directors and stockholders of Cadent Therapeutics. Cadent and Novartis anticipate the transaction will close during the first quarter of 2021. “Since the company’s launch, the Cadent team has been focused on building a portfolio of next-generation small molecule treatments for cognitive, mood, and movement disorders. The expertise of Novartis in development of CNS therapeutics – something we have witnessed first-hand in our existing collaboration – provides an ideal foundation for continued advancement of the Cadent pipeline and will ensure the broad potential of these drugs is realized for patients,” Jodie Morrison, Cadent Therapeutics Chief Executive Officer.