# Synnovation Therapeutics

> Synnovation Therapeutics is a Wilmington, Delaware precision medicine company building small-molecule cancer drugs aimed at validated oncology targets where greater potency and selectivity could beat the current standard of care. Founded in 2024 by a team of former Incyte medicinal chemistry leaders, it launched with a $102 million Series A led by Third Rock Ventures. Its lead programs are SNV1521, a CNS-penetrant, highly selective PARP1 inhibitor, and SNV4818, a mutant-selective PI3K-alpha inhibitor whose subsidiary Pikavation Therapeutics was acquired by Novartis in March 2026 for $2 billion upfront.

- **Founded:** 2024
- **Headquarters:** Wilmington, Delaware, United States
- **Founders:** Wenqing Yao (Founder & CEO (formerly EVP, Head of Discovery Chemistry at Incyte)), Liangxing Wu (Co-Founder & SVP, Drug Discovery (formerly Executive Director of Medicinal Chemistry at Incyte)), Phillip Liu (SVP, Head of Biology), Kevin O'Hayer (SVP, Head of Clinical Development)
- **Team size:** ~50 employees
- **Products:** SNV1521, SNV4818, Discovery pipeline
- **Notable:** Launched in January 2024 with a $102M Series A led by Third Rock Ventures., Dosed first patient in Phase I trial of SNV1521 within weeks of launch (March 2024)., SNV1521 reported to achieve over 500-fold selectivity against PARP2 and to cross the blood-brain barrier.

## Products & services

- **SNV1521** — Lead program: a potent, highly selective, CNS-penetrant PARP1 inhibitor with reported over 500-fold selectivity against PARP2. Designed to reduce hematologic toxicity seen with first-generation PARP inhibitors and to reach brain metastases. Entered Phase I in solid tumors in March 2024.
- **SNV4818** — Mutant-selective PI3K-alpha inhibitor with differentiated selectivity for H1047X mutations, advanced in Phase 1/2 for HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer and other PI3Kalpha-driven solid tumors. Asset advanced through subsidiary Pikavation Therapeutics, acquired by Novartis in 2026.
- **Discovery pipeline** — Additional preclinical small-molecule programs against validated oncology targets, leveraging the team's medicinal chemistry and process chemistry capabilities.

## Achievements

- Launched in January 2024 with a $102M Series A led by Third Rock Ventures.
- Dosed first patient in Phase I trial of SNV1521 within weeks of launch (March 2024).
- SNV1521 reported to achieve over 500-fold selectivity against PARP2 and to cross the blood-brain barrier.
- Subsidiary Pikavation Therapeutics acquired by Novartis for $2B upfront (plus up to $1B milestones) in March 2026.
- Founding team's prior work contributed to FDA-approved drugs including Pemazyre, Olumiant, and Tabrecta.

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Novartis agreed to acquire Synnovation subsidiary Pikavation Therapeutics for $2 billion upfront plus up to $1 billion in milestones, securing the SNV4818 PI3K-alpha inhibitor; deal expected to close by end of June 2026.
- **2024-03** — Announced first patient dosed in Phase I trial of SNV1521, a PARP1 selective inhibitor for solid tumors.
- **2024-01** — Launched publicly with $102 million Series A financing to advance its clinical-stage precision oncology pipeline.

## Links

- Website: https://synnovationtx.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/synnovationtx

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/synnovation-therapeutics
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Last updated: 2026-06-11