Deals
-
Concentra bids on Atea, seeking to acquire another struggling biotech
However, Atea’s board said Tuesday they rejected the offer from Concentra, which was recently involved in the takeover of Jounce Therapeutics.
By Gwendolyn Wu • Updated May 30, 2023 -
Ironwood to buy rare disease drugmaker in billion-dollar deal
The acquisition would give Ironwood a drug in late-stage testing for a condition known as short bowel syndrome, further building out the company’s gastrointestinal-focused research.
By Jacob Bell • May 22, 2023 -
Carol Highsmith. (2005). "The Apex Building" [Photo]. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.
On heels of Amgen lawsuit, FTC broadens investigation of PBMs
The regulator is probing the business practices of two more drug purchasing organizations, deepening an investigation that began last year.
By Kristin Jensen • May 18, 2023 -
Biotech Scribe strikes gene editing deal with Lilly subsidiary
The California-based company now has partnerships in place with Sanofi, Biogen and Lilly’s Prevail.
By Gwendolyn Wu • May 16, 2023 -
FTC sues to block Amgen’s $27.8B deal for Horizon
The regulator’s challenge will test a more expansive view of how pharmaceutical mergers could harm consumers. Amgen remains confident it can complete the deal, however.
By Jonathan Gardner • May 16, 2023 -
Gilead expands Arcus partnership, with eye to inflammatory disease
The new deal is worth up to $1 billion, and will see the two collaborators work together on up to four inflammatory disease drug targets.
By Jonathan Gardner • May 15, 2023 -
A struggling biotech wraps its main assets into a new drug company
Cyclerion Therapeutics has struck an agreement to sell two of its experimental drugs, known as sGC stimulators, to a newly formed company in exchange for cash and equity.
By Jacob Bell • May 12, 2023 -
Pharma contractor Syneos to be taken private in $7.1B deal
The offer from a group of private equity firms comes after a series of ups and downs for Syneos, which was formed through the 2017 merger of contract research firms InVentiv Health and INC Research.
By Kristin Jensen • May 10, 2023 -
FibroGen grabs an option to buy cancer drug startup Fortis
The deal, which gives FibroGen four years to acquire Fortis at a pre-negotiated price, allows the startup to earn returns for its investors without relying on an IPO in a tough market.
By Gwendolyn Wu • May 9, 2023 -
Gilead acquires San Diego startup for early-stage cancer, immune drugs
The buyout of privately held XinThera continues a string of recent acquisitions of smaller biotechs by Gilead and hands it a group of drug prospects that could begin clinical testing later this year.
By Ned Pagliarulo • May 9, 2023 -
Roche pays China-based biotech $70M for a new HER2 drug
The drug, currently in Phase 1, is an oral medicine designed to cross the blood-brain barrier and better treat HER2 tumors that have spread to the brain.
By Jonathan Gardner • May 9, 2023 -
Recursion to acquire two Canadian drug discovery startups
The company agreed to buy Cyclica and Valence after winnowing down a list of more than 100 potential takeover targets, its CEO told BioPharma Dive.
By Gwendolyn Wu • May 8, 2023 -
J&J, building on CAR-T success, strikes another cell therapy deal
Fresh off its success with the multiple myeloma treatment Carvykti, J&J is paying Cellular Biomedicine Group $245 million upfront for rights to two experimental cell therapies for blood cancer.
By Delilah Alvarado • May 2, 2023 -
Astellas to acquire eye drug developer Iveric Bio for $5.9B
Though Iveric previously rebranded as a gene therapy company, Astellas is most interested in its experimental geographic atrophy drug that’s now under regulatory review.
By Ben Fidler • May 1, 2023 -
Sanofi strikes a $150M deal for Maze’s Pompe disease drug
The cash influx extends Maze’s financial runway into 2025, giving the South San Francisco company time to advance other drug candidates into testing.
By Gwendolyn Wu • May 1, 2023 -
Quest to buy liquid biopsy developer Haystack in $450M deal
Co-founded by researcher Bert Vogelstein in 2021, Haystack raised $56 million in venture financing last November for development of its cancer blood tests.
By Susan Kelly • April 27, 2023 -
Biogen’s new strategy brings more pipeline cuts, but leaves deal options open
The company has scrapped two experimental medicines, ended research into eye diseases and “refocused” its gene therapy investment. Yet, its CEO says he’s not opposed to adding new programs via acquisitions.
By Jacob Bell • April 25, 2023 -
GSK to buy Bellus Health and its chronic cough drug for $2B
The acquisition gives GSK a competitor to a similar drug being developed by Merck for the condition, which the companies estimate affects millions of people in the U.S.
By Ned Pagliarulo • April 18, 2023 -
Merck’s latest deal turns up the spotlight on immune system drugmakers
The buyout of Prometheus highlights pharmaceutical companies’ intense interest in medicines targeting inflammatory diseases, according to analysts.
By Jacob Bell • April 17, 2023 -
Merck to buy inflammatory disease drugmaker Prometheus for $10.8B
The deal is the sector's second-largest this year and marks a fast rise for Prometheus, which is the top performing biotech among the 131 to go public since 2021.
By Ben Fidler • April 16, 2023 -
Biogen, aiming for a better Alzheimer’s therapy, licenses a Denali program
The program is part of Denali’s “transport vehicle” platform, which uses drugmaking technology to shepherd large therapeutic molecules like antibodies across the so-called blood-brain barrier.
By Jacob Bell • April 13, 2023 -
Novo’s latest deal targets cell therapy for diabetes, obesity
For an upfront payment of $75 million, Novo gets an exclusive license to use Aspect Biosystems’ “bioprinting” technology to develop as many as four treatments for the diseases.
By Jacob Bell • April 12, 2023 -
Icahn pushes for spinoff of Illumina’s Grail division
The billionaire financier, who is waging a proxy fight for seats on Illumina’s board, is arguing that the liquid biopsy developer should become a separate, publicly traded company.
By Susan Kelly • April 11, 2023 -
GSK outlines deal to send cell therapies back to Adaptimmune
The pharma, which recently retreated from cell therapy research, will pay Adaptimmune about $37 million as part of an agreement to return rights to two cancer treatments.
By Ben Fidler • April 11, 2023 -
Canaan reloads with $850M in fresh funds for startup investing
As with past funds, Canaan anticipates it will allocate about 65% of its capital for technology investments, with the rest going into healthcare and biotech.
By Kristin Jensen • April 6, 2023