J&J to acquire ADC drug developer Ambrx for $2B

The proposed takeout follows a spate of dealmaking around antibody-drug conjugates, targeted cancer medicines that have lured AbbVie, Pfizer, Merck and Gilead.

By Ned Pagliarulo • Jan. 8, 2024

Bristol Myers to acquire brain drug developer Karuna for $14B

The deal would hand Bristol Myers, which is reprioritizing neuroscience research, an experimental treatment for schizophrenia that analysts think could become a blockbuster product.

By Ned Pagliarulo , Ben Fidler • Updated Dec. 22, 2023

Explore the Trendline➔

Biotech dealmaking

Acquisitions of biotech companies have picked up in recent quarters, suggesting depressed valuations may be facilitating deal conversations. Read this trendline for a look at the factors impacting M&A. 

By BioPharma Dive staff

J&J bets bigger on MeiraGTx’s eye gene therapy

Ahead of a Phase 3 readout that could come next year, the pharma is paying $130 million in upfront and near-term cash for rights to the retinitis pigmentosa treatment that it didn’t already own.

By Jonathan Gardner • Dec. 21, 2023

FTC, DOJ finalize merger guidelines that could impede healthcare deals

The new guidelines may give regulators more ammunition to go after vertical and cross-market M&A that has historically been more difficult to challenge.

By Rebecca Pifer • Dec. 19, 2023

Point radiopharma drug results disappoint in prostate cancer study

While the study met its goal, the drug’s benefit was less than analysts had predicted, an outcome that could hasten a planned takeover by Eli Lilly.

By Ned Pagliarulo • Dec. 18, 2023

FTC, in unusual move, leads Sanofi to terminate a drug research deal

Just before clearing Pfizer’s buyout of Seagen, the regulator threatened to block Sanofi’s licensing deal with Maze Therapeutics, a challenge the biotech called ‘‘unprecedented.”

By Jonathan Gardner • Dec. 12, 2023

AstraZeneca to acquire vaccine maker Icosavax for up to $1.1B

The deal signals the pharma company’s continuing interest in vaccine development and hands it a combination shot aimed at two respiratory viruses. 

By Delilah Alvarado • Dec. 12, 2023

Bristol Myers pays SystImmune $800M and adds to pharma’s ‘ADC’ deal spree

The lucrative alliance, potentially worth more than $8 billion, continues a run of dealmaking for a class of cancer drugs that’s surged in popularity in recent years. 

By Ben Fidler • Dec. 12, 2023

Spyre Therapeutics raises $180 million to advance anti-inflammatory drugs

The private placement funding will help Spyre develop its drug pipeline, which includes a TL1A-targeting therapy for inflammatory bowel disease.

By Delilah Alvarado • Dec. 8, 2023

AbbVie to buy Cerevel in $8.7B bet on brain drugs

The deal hands AbbVie a portfolio of psychiatric medicines that originated within Pfizer, among them a closely watched schizophrenia treatment that’s in late-stage testing.

By Ned Pagliarulo , Jacob Bell • Updated Dec. 6, 2023

Roche joins obesity drug chase with $2.7B deal for startup Carmot

The acquisition of Carmot, which had been planning an IPO, will hand Roche three weight loss medicines in early clinical testing.

By Ben Fidler • Dec. 4, 2023

Concentra, on the hunt for deals, bids for LianBio

The Tang Capital-controlled company is bidding for LianBio shortly after making takeover offers for Rain Oncology and Theseus Pharmaceuticals.

By Delilah Alvarado • Dec. 1, 2023

AbbVie joins ADC dealmaking with $10B ImmunoGen buyout

The acquisition of ImmunoGen gives AbbVie an approved medicine for ovarian cancer, and continues a pharma spending spree on antibody-drug conjugates.

By Jonathan Gardner • Nov. 30, 2023

Bristol Myers pours $100M into RNA drugs for cardiovascular diseases

Tuesday’s deal signals the pharmaceutical giant's confidence in Avidity Biosciences and its so-called antibody oligonucleotide conjugates.

By Jacob Bell • Nov. 28, 2023

Merck to buy private biotech Caraway in neuroscience deal

In a deal worth up to $610 million, Merck will gain a pipeline of neuroscience and rare disease programs from a startup it previously backed.

By Delilah Alvarado • Nov. 21, 2023

Homology enters reverse merger with Q32 Bio

The deal, which will result in a combined company operating under Q32's name, comes months after Homology laid off much of its staff.

By Delilah Alvarado • Nov. 16, 2023

Gilead expands Arcellx cancer cell therapy deal

The deal gives Gilead an estimated 13% ownership in Arcellx and extends the company’s cash runway into 2027.

By Jonathan Gardner • Nov. 15, 2023

Novartis licenses Legend cell therapy for lung cancer

With the deal, the Swiss pharma is exploring a tumor target, DLL3, that’s thwarted past drugmaker efforts to attack it.

By Jonathan Gardner • Nov. 13, 2023

AstraZeneca stays in GLP-1 drug race with new deal

AstraZeneca is paying $185 million upfront to gain access to an experimental GLP-1 drug from China-based biotech Eccogene.

By Jonathan Gardner • Nov. 9, 2023

Bristol Myers pays $100M for a different kind of ADC

A deal with Orum Therapeutics gives the large pharma access to a blood and bone marrow cancer drug that's ready to enter clinical testing.

By Gwendolyn Wu • Nov. 6, 2023

Roivant’s $7B Roche deal was a ‘moment of opportunity,’ CEO says

The sale of Telavant and its TL1A drug was born out of a J.P. Morgan conference meeting, Roivant head Matt Gline said, and reflected the biotech’s flexible strategy.

By Michael Gibney • Oct. 31, 2023

Sanofi invests in MeiraGTx and its gene-regulating technology

In addition to Sanofi’s investment, the biotech signaled it’s weighing deals with “multiple” other companies that have expressed interest in its work.

By Delilah Alvarado • Oct. 30, 2023

Sanofi to divest consumer unit, joining pharma industry shift

The restructuring came as the French company forecast an earnings drop in 2024, prompting a stock selloff that erased about $20 billion in market value.

By Jonathan Gardner • Oct. 27, 2023

Amgen to lay off 350 Horizon staffers weeks after closing $28B deal

The latest round of cuts brings the company’s total announced workforce reductions this year to more than 1,000.

By Kristin Jensen • Oct. 25, 2023

OrbiMed raises $4.3B in new funds for startup investing

The money will be spread across three investment funds and comes at a time when investment into biotech remains shakier than in years past.

By Delilah Alvarado • Oct. 24, 2023