Deals
Biogen, Eli Lilly, Merck and Novartis spent more than $20 billion to absorb biotechs with promising or approved drugs; the rare disease space notched approvals for therapies from Denali Therapeutics, Rocket Pharmaceuticals and Biogen; and Wave’s stock lost half its value after its RNA-based obesity candidate failed to impress investors.
FEATURED STORIES
Protagonist Therapeutics will now sit back and collect cash from the J&J partnership, including an immediate $50 million payment.
The major pharmas are loaded up with trillions in firepower—but are sticking to mid-cap deals. One expert says it might be time to think outside the box and shake up the industry with some consolidation.
Whether happening in public or private, biopharma M&A is fiercer than ever. Experts point to patent pressures, herd mentality and a declining stock of available biotechs with mature assets.
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Merck’s acquisition of Terns Pharmaceuticals follows other big-ticket purchases, including of Verona Pharma and Cidara Therapeutics, as the pharma prepares for the impending expiration of its blockbuster’s patents.
Following last month’s $7.8 billion purchase of CAR T biotech Arcellx, Gilead’s dealmaking train chugs along with yet another acquisition—this time securing Ouro Medicines’ pipeline of T cell engagers for inflammatory diseases.
Kali Therapeutics’ T cell engager, for which Sanofi is initially paying $180 million, could potentially be developed for a range of B cell–driven autoimmune disorders.
Aside from the $2 billion upfront payment, Novartis is also putting up to $1 billion on the line in milestones for Synnovation Therapeutics’ pan-mutant-selective PI3Kα blocker.
Servier will pick up Ojemda, which received FDA approval in 2024 to treat pediatric glioma. The drug clocked sales of $155 million for Day One Biopharmaceuticals in 2025.
The alliance, which pairs Tenaya’s modality agnostic target identification and validation capabilities with Alnylam’s deep experience in RNA interference therapeutics, comes during a period of resurgence for the cardiovascular space.
The funding comes weeks after TL1A blocker duvakitug maintained clinical remission rates above 50% in patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease in a Phase 2b trial.
Sanofi will gain global exclusive rights over rovadicitinib, an oral JAK/ROCK blocker that has anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects.
While Boehringer Ingelheim hasn’t yet revealed what diseases it will go after, Sitryx’s oral drug candidate could potentially be disease-modifying for a variety of autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.
Pfizer will be responsible for all global clinical and regulatory activities for Beam Therapeutics’ liver-directed gene editor.