Forma and Novartis Form Cancer Drug Collaboration

Forma Therapeutics, a Cambridge, MA-based biotech firm, said this morning that it has landed a drug-discovery collaboration with Swiss drug giant Novartis. Novartis, which has previously invested in Forma through its Novartis Option Fund, is tapping the biotech startup to apply its cell-based screening platform to discover inhibitor treatments that target protein-to-protein interactions in cancer. Financial terms of the deal and specific drug targets involved weren’t disclosed.

Author: Ryan McBride

Ryan is an award-winning business journalist who contributes to our life sciences and technology coverage. He was previously a staff writer for Mass High Tech, a Boston business and technology newspaper, where he and his colleagues won a national business journalism award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers in 2008. In recent years, he has made regular TV appearances on New England Cable News. Prior to MHT, Ryan covered the life sciences, technology, and energy sectors for Providence Business News. He graduated with honors from the University of Rhode Island in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in communications. When he’s not chasing down news, Ryan enjoys mountain biking and skiing in his home state of Vermont.