It took nearly a year’s negotiation and some detailed due diligence, but when Novartis of Switzerland agreed a deal to license three cancer compounds from Astex Therapeutics last December, Harren Jhoti had little doubt it was worth the wait.
“We were in a pseudo-auction and got a significant royalty,” says Mr Jhoti, chief scientific officer and acting chief executive of Astex, based at Cambridge in the UK. “It’s a very exciting time for the company.”
