Following the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference and other parallel meetings in San Francisco, it’s time to reflect on some of the significant deals secured last week.
Pictured: San Francisco with text overlay/Taylor Tieden for BioSpace
The first major events of the biotech calendar, the J.P Morgan Healthcare Conference and co-located San Francisco healthcare meetings, have come and gone. And while Novartis is reportedly pulling back from buying cardiovascular biotech Cytokinetics, several pharma companies did successfully purchase smaller biotechs and their assets. With many in the biopharma industry having returned home—or stuck en route due to weather-related events—BioSpace recaps the significant deals secured in biotech last week.
1. Johnson & Johnson Buys Ambrx for $2 Billion
With the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) market red hot, J&J kicked off JPM with big news, announcing the purchase of Ambrx. The $2 billion price tag includes an ADC currently in Phase I/II trials for advanced prostate cancer. This is not the first ADC-focused biotech with which J&J has done business. In February 2022, it paid $40 million upfront in a research and licensing deal with Mersana Therapeutics, potentially worth $1 billion. In December 2023, J&J bought the licensing rights for LegoChem Bioscience’s ADC for $100 million upfront and $1.7 billion in possible milestone payments.
2. Merck to Purchase Cancer Biotech Harpoon for $680 Million
Already heavily entrenched in cancer, Merck announced it would buy cancer drug developer Harpoon Therapeutics for an estimated $680 million. The deal is designed to serve as a boost to Merck’s immunotherapy and oncology pipeline. Harpoon has developed T-cell engager drugs and antibodies to kill cancer cells. One candidate, HPN328, is currently in Phase I/II trials for patients with advanced cancers associated with the expression of DLL3.
3. GSK Pumps $1 Billion into Its Asthma Pipeline
GSK will acquire Aiolos Bio for $1 billion upfront and potentially another $400 million in regulatory milestones. The biotech’s main asset is AIO-001, a monoclonal antibody targeting the thymic stromal lymphopoietin cytokine, a “validated driver of inflammation,” according to the company’s website. The treatment, being developed for asthma, may only need to be taken twice a year.
4 and 5. Alphabet’s Isomorphic Labs Secures Two Partners
Novartis and Eli Lilly each partnered with Alphabet’s Isomorphic Labs to use its artificial intelligence platform to develop small molecule-based drugs. The platform was developed with Google’s DeepMind. The Lilly deal will give Isomorphic $45 million upfront and $1.7 billion in performance-based milestones and tiered royalties. Novartis’s contract will see Isomorphic receive $37.5 million upfront and $1.2 billion in milestones and royalties.
6 and 7. Novartis Strikes Deals Targeting Gastrointestinal, Cardio Conditions
Novartis also announced last week the acquisition of Dutch outfit and Merck Serono spinout Calypso Biotech for $250 million upfront, with another $175 million for Calypso’s taking if certain milestones are hit. Calypso’s lead asset, CALY-002, targets the IL-15 cytokine and has the potential to treat several gastrointestinal conditions. Novartis additionally inked license and collaboration agreements with China-based biotech Argo for two RNA interface candidates meant to go after cardiovascular diseases. Argo could see $4.165 billion plus royalties under the terms of the agreement.
Tyler Patchen is a staff writer at BioSpace. You can reach him at tyler.patchen@biospace.com. Follow him on LinkedIn.
