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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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
Pharmaceutical
The acquisition of Brazilian firm Itacel by the plant-based ingredients supplier Roquette marks the entrance of a new competitor in the pharmaceutical excipients market. 2 June 2017
Pharmaceutical
In our latest ASCO-themed expert view piece, Michael Jewell, healthcare partner at Cavendish Corporate Finance, discusses why the oncology sector is seeing increased M&A activity and offers advice to buyers and sellers on how to maximize opportunities in the market and complete deals on the most favorable terms. 2 June 2017
Biotechnology
Chinese healthcare investment firms Frontline BioVentures and WuXi Healthcare Ventures are to merge, creating a venture capital giant with combined assets under management of 5.5 billion renminbi, or $800 million. 30 May 2017
Pharmaceutical
The news over the past week has been dominated by a number of clinical trial disappointments, including with Celgene’s ozanimod, unexpected side effect for Roche’s Ocrevus and Amgen’s Evenity, and even positive news on an HIV vaccine candidate dented Inovio Pharmaceuticals. On the positive side, there was another non-core asset sale by AstraZeneca, and a first acquisition for start-up Bioverativ. 28 May 2017
Biotechnology
Shares of US biotech firm Bioverativ (Nasdaq: BIVV) fell 4% to 452.50 by close of trading on Tuesday, after it announced plans to acquire a privately held San Francisco-based rare disease drug developer, 24 May 2017
Generics
Chinese drugmaker Shanghai Pharmaceutical has confirmed media reports that it is in discussions with financial investors over a possible bid for German generics drugmaker Stada Arzneimittel. 18 May 2017
Biotechnology
Angling for a greater haul in the bullish market for biotech products, diversified medtech firm Thermo Fisher Scientific is to buy Netherlands-incorporated Patheon, a contract manufacturing organization. 18 May 2017
Biotechnology
Actelion has detailed changes to its management team that will come into effect once the Swiss biotech firm becomes part of Johnson & Johnson. 16 May 2017
Generics
German generic drugmaker Stada Arzneimittel, the subject of a ~$5.6 billion takeover bid by the private equity groups Bain Capital and Cinven reports that group sales for the first-quarter 2017 increased 14% to 566.3 million euros ($615.6 million). 12 May 2017
Pharmaceutical
Independent drugmaker Norgine is to acquire specialty pharma company Merus Labs International in a $342 million deal, news of which sent the latter company’s share price spiraling by 54% to $1.19 in Thursday morning’s trading. 11 May 2017
Biotechnology
Horizon Pharma has agreed to acquire River Vision Development and its development-stage medicine teprotumumab (RV001). 10 May 2017
Pharmaceutical
The big political news last week was that US President Donald Trump finally got the House of Representatives to pass new legislation to repeal and replace The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. Also hitting the headlines were Lundbeck and Otsuka’s Rexulti, AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi, a Sosei acquisition, Novartis deal with Celyad, Poxel’s diabetes ambitions and Novo Nordisk results. 7 May 2017
Pharmaceutical
With two deals worth more than $1 billion announced, another all-but-confirmed and two others worth at least $700 million, there was plenty of money being thrown around in mergers and acquisitions in April. 3 May 2017
Biotechnology
Japanese drugmaker Sosei Group has entered into a definitive agreement to make an investment in and acquire an exclusive option to potentially acquire MiNA Therapeutics, a private UK biopharmaceutical company and pioneer in RNA activation therapeutics (small activating RNAs, saRNAs). 3 May 2017
Generics
German generic drugmaker Stada Arzneimittel says it has now received the full offer document for the company’s acquisition that was announced on April 10, which it believes is acceptable. 3 May 2017
Biosimilars
Germany-headquartered Fresenius Kabi has agreed to acquire Akorn, a USA-based manufacturer and marketer of prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceutical products, for around $4.3 billion, or $34.00 a share, plus the assumption of debt of about $450 million. 25 April 2017
Generics
Japanese generics firm Sawai Pharmaceutical has signed an agreement to purchase the generic pharmaceuticals business of privately-held Upsher-Smith, from its parent, ACOVA. 21 April 2017
Pharmaceutical
More than a year after the original acquisition bid was announced, and months of acrimonious legal wrangling, USA-based Abbott is to proceed with the purchase of Alere, but on revised terms. 14 April 2017
Pharmaceutical
With the last set of 2016 financial results of a big-name pharma presented last week, it is possible – when they are viewed in a wider context – to gain some insight into the direction of the industry in analyzing the performance, outlook and pipeline of many of the major players. 10 April 2017
Generics
Stada Arzneimittel has made a decision on which of several takeover proposals it favored. 10 April 2017
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