Deals
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Q&A
Biogen, on the heels of a $5.6B buyout, turns its sights to early-stage assets
In an interview, Chief Financial Officer Robin Kramer said the combined cash flow from Biogen and Apellis will not only help debt leverage ratios but also free up capacity to do other strategic deals.
By Jacob Bell • April 1, 2026 -
Brain drug revival
Lilly beefs up neuroscience pipeline with $6.3B Centessa buyout
The deal secures two sleep disorder drugs that would fill a hole in the company’s portfolio and intensify a competition with Takeda and Eisai.
By Jonathan Gardner • March 31, 2026 -
Biogen, with $5.6B Apellis buy, builds out immunology offerings
Chief Financial Officer Robin Kramer explained how the deal not only provides two marketed products, but a team with nephrology expertise that will be valuable as Biogen prepares to launch felzartamab.
By Jacob Bell • March 31, 2026 -
Merck strikes deal with antibody discovery startup
In an R&D collaboration worth as much as $838 million, Merck will lean on Infinimmune to discover immune cell-directed antibodies for multiple targets.
By Gwendolyn Wu • March 31, 2026 -
Lilly’s AI commitment expands through deal with Insilico
A collaboration “across multiple therapeutic areas” could net the Hong Kong-based biotech more than $2 billion as Lilly seeks to sustain its industry lead.
By Jonathan Gardner • March 30, 2026 -
Brain drug revival
Otsuka picks up PTSD drug with $700M Transcend buy
The buyout, which includes another $525 million in floated payouts, hands Otsuka a medicine it sees as a possibly “paradigm-shifting therapy” in psychiatry.
By Jacob Bell • March 27, 2026 -
Emerging biotech
Novartis targets Xolair successor in buyout of startup Excellergy
Worth up to $2 billion, the deal is centered around a drug that could lead to faster and more complete control of allergic conditions than Novartis and Roche’s popular medicine.
By Gwendolyn Wu • March 27, 2026 -
Merck’s deal for Terns sparks debate over a possible biotech bidding war
Some investors and analysts believe the pharma’s $6.7 billion offer is justified given Terns’ recent stock run. Others are convinced a better proposal is coming.
By Jonathan Gardner • March 26, 2026 -
Merck to buy Terns in $6.7B bet on a ‘differentiated’ leukemia drug
If consummated, the deal would hand Merck a treatment that could challenge Novartis’ fast-selling Scemblix. But the low purchase premium — which one analyst described as a "steal" — may leave room for a competing bid.
By Ben Fidler • March 25, 2026 -
Novartis pays $2B to land a startup’s breast cancer drug
Acquiring a unit of privately held Synnovation Therapeutics hands Novartis a prospect that might improve on medicines that, like its own Piqray, target tumors driven to growth by PIK3CA mutations.
By Gwendolyn Wu • March 20, 2026 -
RBC: Revolution, Xenon, Arrowhead among top takeover targets
As part of a larger review, analyst Leonid Timashev identified 13 companies that could see deal interest as well as more than half a dozen poised to be potential buyers.
By Jacob Bell • March 18, 2026 -
Obesity drugs
Novo, Hims reach deal to sell GLP-1 drugs together
The agreement ends a messy dispute that began when the telehealth firm attempted to sell a compounded form of Novo’s Wegovy pill at a cheaper price.
By Ben Fidler • March 9, 2026 -
Servier to build cancer drug pipeline with $2.5B purchase of Day One
The proposed acquisition would hand Servier a couple experimental drugs in human testing as well as Ojemda, an approved therapy for certain hard-to-treat brain tumors that affect children.
By Jacob Bell • March 6, 2026 -
Obesity drugs
Lilly targets employers in new bid to broaden access to obesity drugs
A service tailored to people with workplace-based insurance coverage represents a new way for Lilly to bypass insurers and expand use of its popular obesity shot.
By Jonathan Gardner • March 5, 2026 -
Blackstone puts $400M into Teva, Sanofi gut disease drug
The deal adds to a growing biotech presence for Blackstone and supports testing of a drug competing with rival therapies from Merck and Roche.
By Jonathan Gardner • March 4, 2026 -
GSK to acquire 35Pharma in $950M deal for cardiovascular drug
The deal hands GSK a drug it views as a potentially “best-in-class” therapy for blood pressure diseases like pulmonary arterial hypertension — the target of Merck’s fast-selling Winrevair.
By Kristin Jensen • Feb. 25, 2026 -
Vir climbs on Astellas deal, study results for ‘masked’ T cell engager
According to one analyst, the alliance and early data “validate” the oncology work of Vir, which was once purely an infectious disease specialist before changing course.
By Delilah Alvarado • Feb. 24, 2026 -
Gilead to buy Arcellx in $7.8B wager on multiple myeloma cell therapy
The acquisition bolsters Gilead’s sputtering cell therapy business with a medication the company expects to become a “foundational treatment” for the blood cancer, its CEO said.
By Ben Fidler • Feb. 23, 2026 -
Lilly to pay CSL $100M to license monoclonal antibody targeting IL-6
The Australian company will retain rights for an end-stage kidney disease indication currently being tested in a Phase 3 trial while Lilly explores other uses.
By Kristin Jensen • Feb. 18, 2026 -
Immune reset
Lilly buys ‘in vivo’ CAR-T maker Orna, extending streak of genetic medicine deals
Worth up to $2.4 billion, the acquisition is also the latest in a series of buyouts involving startups with technologies that modify immune cells inside the body.
By Jonathan Gardner • Feb. 9, 2026 -
Emerging biotech
Takeda, Iambic partner in latest pharma AI push
“The winners over the next five years” will be the companies that “fully integrate” artificial intelligence into drug development, said Takeda research chief Andy Plump.
By Jacob Bell • Feb. 9, 2026 -
Amgen gives up on its once-prized eczema drug
The decision comes more than a year after disappointing initial Phase 3 results and casts further doubt on a class of autoimmune drugs thought to be challengers to treatments like Dupixent.
By Jonathan Gardner • Jan. 30, 2026 -
China competition
AstraZeneca leans into obesity, striking wide-ranging alliance with China’s CSPC
The deal, which involves up to eight “next-generation” weight loss medications and could be worth more than $18 billion, ranks as the largest licensing pact of its kind since the start of 2025, according to BioPharma Dive data.
By Ben Fidler • Jan. 30, 2026 -
Bristol Myers buys into Janux’s ‘masked’ T cell engagers
Worth up to $850 million, the partnership provides “further validation” for Janux at a time of heightened investor scrutiny regarding the potential of its top drug, one analyst wrote.
By Delilah Alvarado • Jan. 22, 2026 -
GSK to buy Rapt in $2.2B deal for food allergy drug
The deal is the first for new CEO Luke Miels as the British drugmaker looks to overcome pressure on its HIV and vaccines businesses.
By Kristin Jensen • Jan. 20, 2026