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
Today's issue
Refine Search
Latest Mergers & Acquisitions News & Features
Pharmaceutical
Swiss pharma giant Novartis today announced an upgrade to its mid-term guidance, in advance of its Meet Novartis Management event for investors and analysts in London. 21 November 2024
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
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
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
Biosimilars
South Korean biosimilars company Celltrion today announced its acquisition of iQone Healthcare Switzerland a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on distribution, sales, and marketing in Switzerland. 15 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
Pharmaceutical
Life science investor Syncona has announced the launch of its newest portfolio company, Slingshot Therapeutics, through the Syncona Accelerator initiative. 14 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
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
Tennessee-based Medtronic says it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Osteotech for $6.50 per share in cash for each share of Osteotech common stock. The total value of the transaction is expected to be approximately $123 million. 18 August 2010
Pharmaceutical
Swiss drug major Novartis will be required to sell an injectable eye care drug used in cataract surgery as part of a settlement which resolves US Federal Trade Commission charges that Novartis's proposed acquisition of eye-care specialist Alcon - which is also being fought by the latter's independent shareholders - would be anticompetitive (The Pharma Letters passim). Chinese competition regulators also require divestments in order to clear the deal. 17 August 2010
Pharmaceutical
US pharmacy benefits management firm Medco Health Solutions has announced a definitive agreement to acquire closely-held United BioSource Corp (UBC) in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $730 million. 17 August 2010
Generics
After several months of negations, starting with an offer that was later reduced, Australia's troubled drugmaker Sigma Pharmaceuticals says that it has finally agreed in principle to sell its Pharmaceuticals Division to South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare for A$900 million ($807 million), above the last bid but still less than the original, unsolicited A$1.49 billion offer for the whole company (The Pharma Letters passim). Aspen first approached Sigma in May, offering A$0.60 a share then, in July, cut its offer to A$0.55 a share. 16 August 2010
Biotechnology
US vaccine maker Emergent BioSolutions has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Trubion Pharmaceuticals, for upfront consideration of $96.8 million and up to $38.7 million of success-based milestones, resulting in a total consideration of up to $135.5 million in cash and stock. 16 August 2010
Biotechnology
In a review of the current macro-economic environments pressuring the biotechnology industry in light of a slow-paced economic recovery, South Africa-based consultancy RothmanResearch.com says that this is making the biotechnology sector an ever more attractive partner for Big Pharm. 13 August 2010
Generics
In another link with academia, French drug major Sanofi-Aventis has entered into a strategic alliance with Scripps Genomic Medicine, a division of the USA-based Scripps Health, to advance R&D initiatives in the field of individualized medicine. Earlier this year, the company set up a collaboration with the USA's Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Biomedical Innovation (The Pharma Letter May 27). 11 August 2010
Pharmaceutical
In a move designed to advance the company's leadership and growth in pain management, Endo Pharmaceuticals plans to acquire all outstanding shares of fellow USA-based Penwest Pharmaceuticals for $5.00 in cash per share, or an estimated enterprise value of approximately $144 million at the time of deal close. Penwest has been working with Endo since 1997 on the development and commercialization of Opana (oxymorphone), a narcotic pain medicine used to treat moderate-to-severe pain, and receives a royalty stream on net sales of the product. 10 August 2010
Pharmaceutical
The USA's Talecris Biotherapeutics says that it and Spain's Grifols SA have each received a request for additional information and documentary material, often referred to as a "Second Request," from the US Federal Trade Commission in connection with their proposed merger. 10 August 2010
Pharmaceutical
Macclesfield, UK-based contract research organization (CRO) Cyprotex says that it has agreed to acquire the entire issued share capital of Apredica, a USA-based CRO specializing in preclinical ADME and toxicology assessment. Immediately preceding Cyprotex' acquisition of the US firm, Apredica acquired the intellectual property and all other assets necessary for offering the Cellular Systems Biology (CSB) and high content toxicology services previously offered by Cellumen. 8 August 2010
Biotechnology
The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed $3.6 billion acquisition of the German generic pharmaceutical company Ratiopharm by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, in a deal which beat other offers from the likes of Pfizer and Actavis (The Pharma Letter March 19). 4 August 2010
Pharmaceutical
San Diego, USA-based Victory Pharma says that it has completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals, a Texas-based company that filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code in April. Financial terms were not disclosed. 4 August 2010
Pharmaceutical
Dublin, Ireland-based specialty biopharmaceutical company Shire revealed yesterday that it will launch a voluntary public takeover offer for all the shares in Movetis NV 4 August 2010
Pharmaceutical
US biopharmaceutical company Lexicon Pharmaceuticals revealed yesterday that it has bought Symphony Icon, thus reacquiring rights to several developing gastrointestinal drugs - LX1031, LX1032, LX1033 and the other drug programs subject to the collaboration. 3 August 2010
Generics
The Competition Bureau in Canada has reached an agreement with Israeli generics giant Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and the Merckle Group (carrying on business as Ratiopharm), requiring divestitures of certain assets and associated licences of certain dosage forms of acetaminophen oxycodone tablets and morphine sulfate sustained-release tablets in Canada. 3 August 2010
Pharmaceutical
US medical research equipment and services company Charles River Laboratories International said Friday it is canceling a $1.6 billion acquisition of Chinese R&D outsourcing firm WuXi PharmaTech after shareholder objections to the deal's price and strategic value. 2 August 2010
Biotechnology
US firm Aptuit and Italy's Siena Biotech have announced a strategic partnership in which the latter will take a minority stake in Aptuit's Italian operations in Verona, Italy, and Aptuit will become a provider of choice for Siena Biotech's development pipeline. 1 August 2010
Pharmaceutical
Sanofi Aventis posted a strong set of second-quarter 2010 results this morning, but the company's chief executive Chris Viehbacher, unveiling the financials in Paris, remained tight-lipped about the French drug major's interest in acquiring troubled US biotechnology firm Genzyme, as has been rumoured for around a week (The Pharma Letter July 26 and 27). 29 July 2010
Pharmaceutical
QPS Holdings, a US full-service GLP/GCP-compliant contract research organization providing testing services to support preclinical and clinical research and development, has completed its acquisition of Xendo Drug Development BV, headquartered in Groningen, the Netherlands. XDD, a European contract research organization (CRO), will be known as QPS Netherlands BV and become a wholly-owned subsidiary of QPS Holdings. 28 July 2010
Pharmaceutical
Sanofi-Aventis recently announced the launch of its oncology drug, Jevtana (cabazitaxel), in the US. The product launch comes a month after the French drug major gained approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for the use of Jevtana in combination with prednisone for the treatment of metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer (mHRPC) patients who were previously treated with a Taxotere (docetaxel)-containing treatment regimen. 27 July 2010
Sign up to receive email updates
Join industry leaders for a daily roundup of biotech & pharma news
Copyright © The Pharma Letter 2024 | Headless Content Management with Blaze