Novartis AG has struck an exclusive option-and-license agreement with privately held Matchpoint Therapeutics to develop oral covalent inhibitors aimed at multiple inflammatory diseases. The Swiss pharmaceutical group will provide about $60 million in upfront cash and research funding while Matchpoint conducts early-stage work using its Advanced Covalent Exploration platform. If Novartis exercises its option after a development candidate is selected, Matchpoint could earn additional development and commercial milestones that lift the deal’s total value to as much as $1 billion, plus tiered royalties on future sales. The program targets an undisclosed transcription factor considered historically difficult to drug, a challenge Matchpoint says its covalent chemistry approach can overcome. The collaboration broadens Novartis’s immunology pipeline and gives the Boston-area biotech its first publicly disclosed partnership since launching in 2022 with $100 million in venture funding. Novartis will gain global rights to develop and commercialize any resulting therapies once it licenses the program.