Pharma & Biotech Mergers & Acquisitions News
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
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Biotechnology
AlloVir has entered into a definitive agreement to merge with biopharma company Kalaris Therapeutics. 8 November 2024
Pharmaceutical
European regulators will decide by December 6 whether Novo Holdings, the controlling shareholder of Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk, can finalize its $16.5 billion acquisition of contract drug manufacturer Catalent. 5 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
Pharmaceutical
Pharmaceutical M&A came back with a bang during October, after a quiet September. 5 November 2024
Pharmaceutical
US pharma major AbbVie last week proposed $1.4 billion acquisition of US CNS drug developer Aliada Therapeutics. Last week saw a bunch of third quarter 2024 financials results, among which were Elil Lilly, AbbVie and Merck & Co. Also of note, Lexicon’s type I diabetes drug Zynquista faced a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee review that resulted in largely negative vote against recommendation. 3 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
Pharmaceutical
Melbourne, Australia-based Telix Pharmaceuticals has announced the launch of Rhine Pharma, a subsidiary aimed at increasing global access to radiopharmaceuticals for cancer treatment and imaging. 22 October 2024
Pharmaceutical
French pharma major Sanofi has opened negotiations to sell a 50% controlling stake in its consumer health business Opella to US private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R). 21 October 2024
Pharmaceutical
Last week’s significant news included Denmark-based CNS drugmaker Lundbeck reaching agreement to acquire US firm Longboard Pharmaceuticals, along with its bexicaserin, for $2.6 billion. Also, US pharma giant Pfizer entered into a deal with TRIANA Biomedicines to develop molecular glue degraders. On the regulatory front, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week approved Novocure’s key product Optune Lua for lung cancer patients. Also, German biotech BioNTech and its US partner OncoC4 received a partial clinical hold from the FDA on the Phase III trial of gotistobart in lung cancer. The European Medicines Agency’s human health committee, CHMP, Reaffirmed its non-approval of PTC Therapeutic’s Translarna. 20 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
Biotechnology
USA-based Kezar Life Sciences announced this week that it was pausing its Phase IIb PALIZADE trial evaluating zetomipzomib in lupus nephritis (LN) following the deaths of four patients. 10 October 2024
Biotechnology
Canada and USA-based biotech Chinook Therapeutics today announced the formation of SanReno Therapeutics, a joint venture with an investor syndicate led by Frazier Healthcare Partners and Pivotal bioVenture Partners China, to develop, manufacture and commercialize kidney disease therapies in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Singapore (the Territory). 30 November 2021
Biotechnology
US precision cancer therapy specialist Blueprint Medicines today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Lengo Therapeutics, a privately held precision oncology company. 29 November 2021
Biotechnology
Despite the continuing pandemic, the biopharma sector saw a return to relative stability during the first half of 2021. Remote operations are proving effective, deals are being made, and clinical research has resumed in many areas, according to the latest Evaluate Vantage report. 29 November 2021
Pharmaceutical
Swiss drugmaker Vifor Pharma today announced its move further into the vascular calcification arena with the proposed acquisition of not one, but two early-stage drug developers. 22 November 2021
Biotechnology
News of note last week included US Pharma giant Merck & Co releasing new data on its PCSK9 inhibitor MK-0616, which could have a major impact on the cholesterol-lowering therapy sector. US firm Atea Pharmaceuticals had a setback last Tuesday, when partner Roche decided to pull out of a deal on the development of AT-527, a potential COVID-19 antiviral treatment. US biotech Biogen and Japanese drugmaker Eisai’s Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm, which gained a very controversial approval from the US Food And Drug Administration, received a negative early trend view from the European Medicines advisory committee, the CHMP, casting further doubt on the future of the drug. Also, Danish diabetes care giant announced a $3.3 billion deal to acquire its long-term partner Dicerna. 21 November 2021
Biotechnology
RNA interference (RNAi) specialist Dicerna Pharmaceuticals is to be acquired by Danish diabetes giant Novo Nordisk for about $3.3 billion. 18 November 2021
Biotechnology
French pharma major Sanofi today announced an equity investment of $180 million and a new strategic collaboration with Owkin comprised of discovery and development programs in four exclusive types of cancer, with a total payment of $90 million for three years plus additional research milestone-based payments. 18 November 2021
Biotechnology
US DNA synthesis firm Twist Bioscience has launched Revelar Biotherapeutics, an independently operated, new biotechnology company to develop and commercialize an antibody, discovered and optimized by its Twist Biopharma division, that neutralizes all known variants of concern of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in pre-clinical studies. 16 November 2021
Biotechnology
Today Jefferies has published the Jefferies Healthcare Temperature Check Report, now in its fourth edition. 16 November 2021
Pharmaceutical
Significant news last week including UK Pharma major GlaxoSmithKline releasing positive new data on its daprodustat as a new option for anemia in kidney disease. Deal-making developments featured Pfizer entering an agreement that could cost it up to $1.2 billion to gain certain rights to Biohaven Pharma’s migraine drug Nurtec. Also, Roche subsidiary Genentech inked a license and research collaboration with US start-up Novome Biotechnologies on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Meantime, Japan’s Kyowa Kirin gained a positive recommendation for its rare blood cancer drug Poteligeo from the UK’ health technology assessor the NICE. Additionally, health care giant Johnson & Johnson surprised markets, with the announcement that it is splitting out its Consumer Health business into a separate publicly-traded company. 14 November 2021
Pharmaceutical
US healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson says it intends to separate the company’s Consumer Health business, creating a new publicly traded company. Shares in J&J gained 4.3% in pre-market trading in New York on Friday but closed up just 1.2% at $165.01. 14 November 2021
Pharmaceutical
Danish iron metabolism specialist Pharmacosmos has announced the acquisition of AbFero Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held US pharma company dedicated to treating diseases of iron overload. 11 November 2021
Pharmaceutical
Finnish company Forendo Pharma has been purchased by fellow women’s health specialist Organon for up to around $1 billion, including potential milestone payments. 11 November 2021
Biotechnology
Coming out of stealth, US developer of predictive precision medicines Notable Labs is acquiring worldwide development and commercial rights to volasertib, a PLK-1 inhibitor in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) from Oncoheroes, which gained rights to the investigational compound from Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim in 2019. 11 November 2021
Generics
The US Federal Trade Commission will require generic drug marketers ANI Pharmaceuticals and Novitium Pharma to divest, to Prasco, ANI’s development rights to one generic drug used to treat common infections and assets with respect to another generic drug used to treat inflammation as part of a settlement resolving charges that ANI’s $210 million acquisition of Novitium, announced in March this year, likely would be anticompetitive. 11 November 2021
Pharmaceutical
Deal-making news last week featured US pharma giant Merck & Co further expanding its cytokines portfolio, signing a license and research collaboration with Synthekine on novel therapeutics for autoimmune diseases. Also, Swiss giant Novartis extended its interest in the area of protein degraders, announcing an up to $1.3 billion deal with Dunad Therapeutics. Long rumored and finally announced, Novartis said it has agreed to sell back to Roche the 33% of voting shares it has been holding in its Swiss rival for 20 years or so. Meantime, Pfizer, already preeminent in the COVID-19 sector with its hugely successful vaccine Comirnaty, released very positive Phase II/III trial results for its antiviral Paxlovid (ritonavir). 7 November 2021
Pharmaceutical
Mid-sized Japanese drugmaker Nippon Shinyaku, which is focussed on rare disease and blood cancer treatments, has announced the setting up a subsidiary in China’s capital, Beijing. 5 November 2021
Pharmaceutical
Takeda was the only pharma heavyweight to announce an acquisition in October, but a few smaller drugmakers did deals to create larger entities, too. 4 November 2021
Pharmaceutical
Novartis has agreed to sell 53.3 million (around 33%) bearer shares of fellow Swiss pharma giant Roche in a bilateral transaction to Roche for a total consideration of $20.7 billion. 4 November 2021
Biotechnology
Belgian biotech Agomab Therapeutics is to acquire Origo Biopharma, a Spanish firm developing organ-restricted small molecule drug candidates targeting the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) pathway for the treatment of fibrosis-related disorders. 28 October 2021
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