Deals
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Arvinas, Pfizer find new partner for ‘Protac’ breast cancer drug
A deal with Rigel Pharmaceuticals ends months of uncertainty about the future of Veppanu, a first-of-its-kind, newly approved medicine with a murky financial outlook.
By Delilah Alvarado • May 12, 2026 -
China competition
Bristol Myers, Hengrui join forces in drugmaking alliance worth up to $15.2 billion
The wide-ranging pact involves as many as 13 drugs and marks the latest example of the growing relationship between Chinese pharmaceutical firms and their U.S. and Europe-based counterparts.
By Ben Fidler • May 12, 2026 -
China competition
GSK cuts deal with Sino to broaden reach of hepatitis B drug
The marketing deal is the latest in a series of recent pacts between GSK and China-based drug companies, and could speed access to a therapy called bepirovirsen that’s important to its future.
By Delilah Alvarado • May 11, 2026 -
Lilly, Gilead lead pharma’s M&A boom
Deal volume in 2026 is substantially outpacing last year, and activity is being driven by interest in cancer and autoimmune disease drugs.
By Kelly Bilodeau • May 8, 2026 -
Angelini to buy Catalyst in $4B play for rare neuro drugs
The acquisition hands the Italian pharma a group of medicines approved to treat various CNS disorders and gives it wider market access in the U.S.
By Gwendolyn Wu • May 7, 2026 -
Roche to acquire digital pathology firm PathAI in deal potentially worth over $1B
Roche plans to offer PathAI’s tools as part of an effort to improve cancer diagnosis and tailored treatment.
By Elise Reuter • May 7, 2026 -
News roundup
Summit’s ‘self-inflicted’ stumble; Esperion’s take-private deal
Summit’s decision to conduct an interim analysis of a closely watched trial backfired. Elsewhere, Axsome got a much-needed label expansion and an FDA committee sided against an AstraZeneca breast cancer medicine.
By Ben Fidler • May 1, 2026 -
Merck still sees ‘compelling’ outlook for Terns leukemia drug
Despite updated study data that suggest Terns’ treatment may be less differentiated, company executives claimed Thursday that it still could be an important step forward in care.
By Jonathan Gardner • April 30, 2026 -
Brain drug revival
Teva nabs experimental Tourette drug in $700M Emalex buyout
A Jefferies analyst argued the deal — Teva’s largest in a decade — “makes sense” given the synergies between Emalex and the pharmaceutical giant’s neurology business.
By Jacob Bell • April 29, 2026 -
Chiesi to buy KalVista in $1.9B deal for rare disease drug
The acquisition is the fifth of a biotech company so far this week and, according to some Wall Street analysts, proves pharma’s interest in new and emerging oral therapies for hereditary angioedema.
By Kristin Jensen • April 29, 2026 -
Lilly to buy startup Ajax in bid for a better JAK drug
Worth up to $2.3 billion overall, the deal hands Lilly a drug designed to address the weaknesses of a class of medicines used to treat myelofibrosis and other diseases.
By Ben Fidler • April 27, 2026 -
Lilly boosts ‘in vivo’ cell therapy capabilities with Kelonia buyout
Worth up to $7 billion, Lilly’s second recent acquisition of a company in the space is centered around a cell therapy that’s currently in early-stage testing for multiple myeloma.
By Ben Fidler • April 20, 2026 -
Brain drug revival
UCB, betting on seizure cell therapy, to buy Neurona for up to $1.2B
The acquisition helps diversify UCB’s small molecule-centric arsenal of seizure treatments with a potentially one-off therapy in early testing for a hard-to-treat form of a common epilepsy.
By Jacob Bell • April 17, 2026 -
Obsidian, Galera to advance cell therapy following reverse merger
The combined company will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker OBX. It has also secured commitments for a private placement expected to deliver $350 million in gross proceeds.
By Jacob Bell • April 15, 2026 -
Lilly boosts ADC portfolio with CrossBridge Bio deal
Worth up to $300 million, the buyout is Lilly’s latest of an ADC maker and adds technology for making “dual-payload” therapies.
By Ben Fidler • April 14, 2026 -
With 3 quick buyouts, Gilead leans into its latest transformation
On a conference call with analysts, Gilead walked through how a string of recent deals focused on cancer and autoimmune conditions could help a diversification plan it’s long struggled to execute.
By Jonathan Gardner • April 8, 2026 -
Terns rebuffed a higher bid before selling to Merck
Regulatory filings show that Terns ultimately accepted an offer 15% lower than a previous proposal as four companies vied for rights to the coveted leukemia drug developer.
By Jonathan Gardner • April 7, 2026 -
Gilead continues M&A surge with $3.1B deal for ADC specialist Tubulis
Gilead’s third acquisition since late February hands it a technology designed to make antibody-drug conjugates less toxic and multiple cancer medicines already in clinical testing.
By Gwendolyn Wu • April 7, 2026 -
Neurocrine to acquire Prader-Will drug in $2.9B Soleno buyout
The deal hands Neurocrine a “controversial” medicine, Vykat, that achieved $190 million in sales last year but faces persistent questions about its growth trajectory and safety, according to Wall Street analysts.
By Ben Fidler • April 6, 2026 -
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