Pharma & Biotech Mergers & Acquisitions News
Pharmaceutical
Big pharmas are not deterred by China’s increasingly complex business environment. Instead, they are changing strategies to minimize risks while continuing to benefit from China, said speakers at ChinaTrials held last week in Shanghai. 18 November 2024
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Biotechnology
Last week’s notable announcements included Swiss pharma giant Roche saying it has regenerated a previously dropped compound, tominersen - licensed from Ionis Pharmaceuticals, to develop it for Huntington’s disease. Belgium’s biggest pharma firm UCB announced a takeover bid worth up to $1.9 billion for USA-based Zogenix and its epilepsy drug Fintepla. Biotech firm Altos Labs came out of stealth with some $3 billion in financing and luring GlaxoSmithKline’s research chief Hal Barron to be its chief executive, along with several notables to its team. On the research front, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals presented new data supporting its investigational drug vutrisiran in transthyretin amyloidosis. 23 January 2022
Biotechnology
New biotech company Altos Labs has launched today with the aim of unraveling the deep biology of cellular rejuvenation programming, with $3 billion fully committed from renowned company builders and investors. 19 January 2022
Biotechnology
In its latest analysis 2021 Review & Outlook for 2022, The Biotech Growth Trust reveals that now is an ideal time to buy small-cap biotech stocks for long-term investors, with many companies now trading at prices lower than the net cash on their balance sheet. 17 January 2022
Biotechnology
The PureTech Health founded entity Gelesis has announced the completion of its business combination with Capstar Special Purpose Acquisition Corp. 14 January 2022
Biotechnology
Novo Seeds, the early stage investment and company creation team of Novo Nordisk’s primary shareholder, has provided a review of its activities in 2021. 12 January 2022
Biotechnology
US clinical stage cell and gene therapy company Castle Creek Biosciences says it has acquired Novavita Thera, a pre-clinical gene therapy company focused on rare liver and metabolic diseases. 11 January 2022
Biotechnology
Japan’s largest drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical announced the exercise of its option to acquire Adaptate Biotherapeutics, a UK company focused on developing antibody-based therapeutics for the modulation of variable delta 1 (Vδ1) gamma delta (γδ) T cells. 10 January 2022
Biotechnology
Long before COVID-19 emerged, few life sciences executives expected a repeat of the 2019 mergers and acquisitions (M&A) show, when four megadeals drove the annual deal total to $306 billion. 10 January 2022
Biotechnology
Aiming to expand its rare diseases gene therapy portfolio, USA-based Kriya Therapeutics revealed on Friday it has acquired Warden Bio, a company developing novel AAV-mediated gene therapies for glycogen storage disorders (GSDs). 8 January 2022
Biotechnology
British American Tobacco (BAT) has announced the launch of KBio Holdings (KBio), a biotech company focused on accelerating the research, development and production of new treatments for rare and infectious diseases. 7 January 2022
Biotechnology
German life sciences and pharm company Merck KGaA has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Exelead, a USA-based biopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO). 6 January 2022
Biotechnology
Belgium-based biotech Univercells today announced its acquisition of SynHelix, a French biotechnology company. 6 January 2022
Biotechnology
Shares of US biotech Spectrum Pharmaceuticals closed down more than 11% at $1.27 yesterday, after it announced a strategic restructuring. 6 January 2022
Biotechnology
Mergers and acquisitions among pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies announced in full year 2021 dropped to their lowest level in more than a decade, which may have been partly influenced by tougher regulations with competition authorities calling for significant divestments to green light deals. 4 January 2022
Biotechnology
Novartis announced today that it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding share capital of the UK-based ocular gene therapy company Gyroscope Therapeutics, which was formed in 2016 and co-funded by Syncona. 22 December 2021
Biotechnology
Clearly French pharma major Sanofi’s appetite for M&A has not been satisfied yet, as the company today announced its sixth acquisition this year. 21 December 2021
Biotechnology
Last week saw more M&A announcements, first with Pfizer revealing its planned acquisition of Arena Pharmaceuticals for $6.7 billion, with the aim of expanding its immune-inflammatory portfolio including etrasimod, then with Australia’s CSL Limited confirming rumors that it will take over Swiss firm Vifor Pharma for $11.7 billion, to extend its portfolio into the cardiovascular and nephrology sectors. On the deal-making front, Horizon Therapeutics entered an agreement to acquire Alpine Immune Sciences’ autoimmune and inflammatory diseases program that could cost it $1.9 billion. Also, French biotech Genfit landed a lucrative deal with Ipsen for its biliary cholangitis (PBC) candidate elafibranor. 19 December 2021
Biotechnology
UK clinical stage biopharma company Vaccitech yesterday announced that it has acquired USA-based Avidea Technologies. 14 December 2021
Biotechnology
China-based Avistone Pharmaceuticals has received a strategic investment of more than $200 million led by Vivo Capital with participation from Bain Capital and Primavera Capital. 9 December 2021
Biotechnology
Odyssey Acquisition, a Euronext Amsterdam-listed special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC), and British biotech BenevolentAI, a clinical-stage AI drug discovery company, today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination. 7 December 2021
Biotechnology
Aizen Therapeutics, an AI-driven biotech headquartered in San Diego, has officially launched from stealth mode, introducing its drug discovery platform, DaX. 21 November 2024
Biotechnology
Massachusetts, USA-based firm VBI Vaccines has initiated a nationwide voluntary recall of PreHevbrio (hepatitis B vaccine), as it proceeds with bankruptcy and the shutdown of its operations. 19 November 2024
Biotechnology
Last week saw US pharma major AbbVie release disappointing Phase II trial results on its emraclidine in schizophrenia, which benefited Bristol Myers Squibb. Also on the research front, Germany’s Merck KGaA and Abbisko’s pimicotinib showed positive results in tenosynovial giant cell tumor (TGCT). M&A news saw German BioNTech punting $800 million upfront to acquire China based oncology focused Biotheus. Also of note, US drugmaker Halozyme Therapeutics made an unsolicited takeover bid for Evotec, valuing the German firm, at around 2 billion euros. 17 November 2024
Biotechnology
Shares of German drug discovery company Evotec leapt 20% to 10.33 euros this morning on the revelation that the USA’s Halozyme Therapeutics has submitted a non-binding proposal to acquire Evotec for 11.00 euros per share in cash, implying a fully-diluted equity value of around 2.0 billion euros ($2.12 billion). 15 November 2024
Biotechnology
BeiGene has announced plans to rebrand as BeOne Medicines, a move the cancer specialist says reflects its commitment to fighting cancer through collaboration. 15 November 2024
Biotechnology
Although it is seeing a downturn in sales and profits, German biotech BioNTech is continuing to acquire assets with the cash pile it made through the covid pandemic, notably iis Comirnaty vaccine that was developed with Pfizer (NYSE: PFE). 13 November 2024
Biotechnology
Trace Neuroscience, a newly launched biopharma based in San Francisco, aims to advance treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, starting with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). 12 November 2024
Biotechnology
AlloVir has entered into a definitive agreement to merge with biopharma company Kalaris Therapeutics. 8 November 2024
Biotechnology
California, USA-based biotech Nektar Therapeutics’ shares closed up more than 8% at $1.33 yesterday after it announced the sale of its only manufacturing facility. 5 November 2024
Biotechnology
Maryland, USA–based glycobiology specialist GlycoMimetics has entered into an acquisition agreement with Crescent Biopharma, a privately held biotechnology company advancing a pipeline of oncology therapeutics designed to treat solid tumors. 30 October 2024
Biotechnology
German drugmaker Dr Falk Pharma GmbH today announced completion of the acquisition of Kynos Therapeutics, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on the development of novel KMO inhibitors for acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. 29 October 2024
Biotechnology
US Pharma major AbbVie has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Aliada Therapeutics, a biotech advancing therapies using a novel blood-brain barrier (BBB)-crossing technology to address challenging central nervous system (CNS) diseases. 29 October 2024
Biotechnology
Ottimo Pharma, a biotech founded by Medicxi in 2020, has emerged from stealth mode with an executive team packed with prominent industry leaders. 28 October 2024
Biotechnology
Last week Vertex Pharmaceuticals released positive Phase III results for its suzetrigine for moderate-to-severed pain. Belgium’s UCB revealed that Swiss pharma giant Roche was terminating its collaboration on the Alzheimer’s candidate bepranemab. The UK’s health technology assessor the Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) declined to recommend a second Alzheimer’s treatment, this time Eli Lilly’s Kisunla. Also of note, Lyell Immunopharma announced its planned acquisition of ImmPACT Bio and reprioritization of its own clinical pipeline. 27 October 2024
Biotechnology
California, USA-based Lyell Immunopharma (Nasdaq: LYEL) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held US CAR-T company ImmPACT Bio. 26 October 2024
Biotechnology
Mumbai-based Mankind Pharma has completed its acquisition of Bharat Serums and Vaccines (BSV), adding to its portfolio in the women’s health and fertility market. 24 October 2024
Biotechnology
Ocuphire Pharma has announced its acquisition of Opus Genetics, a clinical-stage gene therapy company focused on treating inherited retinal diseases. 24 October 2024
Biotechnology
Connecticut, USA-based Modifi Biosciences today announced that the company has been acquired by pharma giant Merck & Co 23 October 2024
Biotechnology
Taiwan-based REGiMMUNE, a biopharma creating immunotherapies through the power of regulatory T cells (Tregs), and France-based Kiji Therapeutics, a specialist in induced pluripotent stem cells-mesenchymal stem cells (IPSC-MSC) engineered cell therapies for inflammatory diseases, are to merge. 18 October 2024
Biotechnology
Danish CNS specialist Lundbeck today revealed that it has reached to acquire Longboard Pharmaceuticals. 15 October 2024
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