In a deal valued at at least $326 million just announced, Novartis will return the Oncology antibody to Aveo. The AV-380 antibody targets GDF15. In an SEC filing, Aveo said it has received a 'notice of termination' of the license agreement with Novartis. This agreement gave Novartis exclusive worldwide right to develop and commercialise AV-380 and related Aveo antibodies that inhibit GDF15.

Though Novartis regard the programme 'an important asset', they also maintain that development delays, and ultimately an internal decision not to continue further development as the key reason to hand back the license. Novartis also said that changes in management and strategic priorities within the firm were central to their decision.

This news is not totally unexpected, as Aveo were involved with filing a dispute notification regarding Novartis’ compliance with its 'diligence obligations' as part of the development of AV-380. Aveo had stated that 'if the parties are unable to resolve the dispute at the management level, an arbitration could be commenced'.

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