Novartis to pay up to $2 billion for US biotech firm Excellergy

* Deal adds to ​Novartis' established ⁠immunology franchise

* Marks drugmaker's second acquisition in ​a week

* Transaction expected to close in second half of 2026

March ​27 (Reuters) - ‌Swiss drugmaker Novartis will buy California-based biotech company Excellergy in a deal worth up to $2 billion, ⁠it said on Friday, extending its anti-allergy range and ⁠in line with plans to ​increase its U.S. focus. A week ago it announced another deal to buy a breast cancer drug candidate for up to $3 billion from U.S. biotech firm Synnovation Therapeutics.

Novartis will pay ​up to $2 ‌billion in upfront and milestone payments for Excellergy, it said, adding the deal is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals.

INCREASED RANGE OF ANTI-ALLERGY DRUGS Excellergy's food allergy drug candidate, Exl-111, would ​extend Novartis' existing anti-allergy franchise, which includes its blockbuster Xolair, used for allergic asthma and ‌other conditions, that faces increased competition in some EU markets. A biosimilar, or drug similar to one already approved, was introduced to ‌EU markets late last year after some patents expired for Xolair, which is sold by Novartis outside the U.S. and by Swiss peer Roche's Genentech in the United States.

Like ​Xolair, Exl-111 also targets the immune system's IgE antibodies but is longer-acting and designed to bind ‌more tightly and remove IgE from its receptor.

It has been shown to suppress allergic signaling faster and more effectively than existing drugs in early studies but the benefit has yet ⁠to ⁠be tested in larger human trials. In April last year, ‌Novartis said it planned to invest $23 billion to build and expand its facilities in the United States through ​the following half ​decade.

So far the company has begun construction on R&D ‌and manufacturing sites across four states, including California, and expanded its radioligand therapy facilities in Indiana and New Jersey. (Reporting by Bhanvi Satija, Marleen Kaesebier and Maria Rugamer, additional reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Dave Graham and Barbara Lewis)