This acquisition expands the ways argenx can pursue novel biology and develop oral or long-acting medicines for people living with serious immune-mediated diseases.

“Our ambition is to be the leading immunology innovation company, and as argenx builds its next chapter, we are investing with discipline where it will count the most for patients,” said Karen Massey, Chief Executive Officer of argenx. “UNP adds macrocyclic peptide capabilities that are highly complementary to our antibody engineering and creates new possibilities for oral and long-acting medicines. After working together for more than two years, we also know there is a strong fit in how we work: science first, entrepreneurial and focused on patients. We want to preserve what has made UNP successful while bringing the strengths of both teams together.”

“Today is a tremendous milestone for UNP and a testament to the exceptional work of our scientists, employees, collaborators and supporters,” said Cameron Pye, Ph.D., CEO and Co-Founder of UNP. “From the earliest days, we believed our platform had the potential to redefine what is possible in the discovery and design of new medicines. I am so proud of what our team has accomplished and believe argenx provides the ideal environment to accelerate and amplify that vision to bring innovative therapies to patients.”

Following closing of the acquisition, UNP’s team and leadership will continue to operate from its Santa Cruz, California site, which will serve as argenx’s home for peptide discovery. UNP will continue to lead its discovery work, within a strategic framework agreed upon with argenx. argenx will bring its clinical development and commercialization capabilities to advance those medicines to patients.