AstraZeneca reveals its cell therapy ambitions with deal for startup

The British drugmaker will pay as much as $320 million to acquire Neogene Therapeutics, a developer of cell-based treatments for solid tumors — its first significant investment in the field.

By Ben Fidler • Nov. 29, 2022

Merck to buy blood cancer biotech Imago for $1.35B

The deal is Merck’s second notable acquisition in the past year and a half, part of a strategy to diversify its pipeline beyond the top-selling Keytruda.

By Christopher Newman • Nov. 21, 2022

Regeneron teams up with CytomX to develop dual-targeting cancer drugs

Regeneron will pay CytomX $30 million to try to create bispecific antibody drugs that are safer and have a wider reach than existing treatments.  

By Christopher Newman • Nov. 17, 2022

Jnana deepens ties with Roche and grabs a new round of funding

The startup, developing drugs that target an untapped class of proteins called solute carriers, has now formed two lucrative alliances with the Swiss drugmaker since 2020.

By Gwendolyn Wu • Nov. 15, 2022

Narcan developer to be acquired by Indivior

The deal, which could carry a total value of roughly $145 million, is in large part focused on a nasal formulation of the opioid overdose drug nalmefene.

By Jacob Bell • Nov. 14, 2022

Centerview grows role as go-to adviser for biopharma dealmaking

Over the past several years, the investment advisory firm has served as a financial adviser on biopharma acquisitions worth more than $200 billion in total, with the latest announced Monday.

By Jacob Bell • Nov. 8, 2022

Viatris to buy two eye drug developers in deals worth up to $750M

The generics company is acquiring Oyster Point Pharma and the privately held Famy Life Sciences in a move aimed at creating an ophthalmology business.

By Delilah Alvarado • Updated Nov. 7, 2022

Artiva cancels IPO plans and cuts a deal with Affimed

With public offerings difficult to pull off, Artiva is focusing its energy on developing a cancer drug with the German biotech.

By Gwendolyn Wu • Nov. 3, 2022

J&J to buy heart device maker Abiomed for $16.6B

The deal is the biggest by J&J since its $30 billion buyout of Actelion in 2017, and comes as the company works to split its consumer health business from its pharma and medtech units. 

By Elise Reuter • Nov. 1, 2022

Astellas takes stake in gene therapy developer Taysha

Already an investor in gene therapy, the Japanese pharma will buy 15% of the Texas biotech’s stock and gain options to two gene therapies for central nervous system disorders.

By Delilah Alvarado • Oct. 24, 2022

Myovant agrees to sell after buyer ups price

Sumitomo Pharma, a Japanese drug company that already owns 52% of Myovant, is now offering to buy all the remaining shares for $27 apiece in a deal that values the biotech at $2.9 billion.

By Jacob Bell • Oct. 24, 2022

AGTC yields to biotech downturn with gene therapy buyout deal

The biotech is the latest in a growing list of genetic medicine developers to sell themselves near record stock lows amid a challenging funding environment.  

By Ben Fidler • Oct. 24, 2022

AbbVie to buy UK biotech DJS for $255M

The deal gives AbbVie an experimental medicine for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, as well as a platform for designing antibody drugs that can target proteins known as GPCRs.

By Ned Pagliarulo • Oct. 20, 2022

J&J, flush with cash, says high valuations remain a dealmaking hurdle

“We don’t have to do anything out of desperation,” said CFO Joseph Wolk on J&J’s second quarter earnings call. J&J holds $34 billion in cash and other liquid assets. 

By Christopher Newman • Oct. 18, 2022

Aveo sells to LG Chem after turnaround for kidney cancer drug

The biotech survived multiple drug rejections, shareholder lawsuits and a federal investigation before winning approval of Fotivda, the centerpiece of its $566 million buyout on Tuesday.

By Ben Fidler • Oct. 18, 2022

Lilly bets more than $600M on a gene therapy developer targeting hearing loss

Like with Prevail Therapeutics, Lilly’s first gene therapy acquisition, the pharma’s planned buyout of Akouos includes a contingent value right that could hike the deal’s overall cost.

By Jacob Bell • Oct. 18, 2022

Enliven to enter public markets through reverse merger with Imara

With the IPO market still depleted, Enliven, a precision oncology company, has found a different path to the Nasdaq stock exchange.

By Jacob Bell • Oct. 14, 2022

PureTech, Nektar end talks of combination

Days after acknowledging that discussions were taking place, the two companies have called off further negotiations over a possible deal, leaving Nektar’s future again uncertain.

By Jonathan Gardner • Updated Oct. 11, 2022

Incyte, branching out in dermatology, to buy startup Villaris

The acquisition, Incyte’s first of an entire company, hands the pharmaceutical company a potentially long lasting treatment for the skin disease vitiligo.

By Gwendolyn Wu • Oct. 3, 2022

Myovant rejects $2.4B buyout offer from Japanese majority owner

The biotech said the proposed offer “significantly undervalues” the company, but that it’s open to considering a higher bid.

By Christopher Newman • Oct. 3, 2022

AstraZeneca to acquire gene editing biotech LogicBio

Shares in LogicBio had lost nearly all their value since a 2018 IPO, bringing the company to the brink of Nasdaq delisting. The buyout deal represents a premium of over 600%.

By Delilah Alvarado • Oct. 3, 2022

Solid Bio yields to Sarepta on Duchenne with plans for merger, R&D shakeup

The biotech, which fell behind Sarepta in developing a Duchenne gene therapy, will merge with AavantiBio, a startup run by a former Sarepta executive.

By Ben Fidler • Sept. 30, 2022

Ventus sells its lead drug candidate to Novo Nordisk

The biotech will part with its lead drug candidate, an anti-inflammatory small molecule, in Novo Nordisk’s bet on inflammasome treatments.

By Gwendolyn Wu • Sept. 29, 2022

Roche pays $70M in another bid to catch up on cancer cell therapies

Rival companies have set a standard in lymphoma and leukemia. Now the Swiss drugmaker wants to be a pioneer in cell treatments for solid tumors.

By Jonathan Gardner • Sept. 27, 2022

Seagen, amid deal rumors, spends $50M on a dual-targeting cancer drug

While a long-rumored acquisition by Merck & Co. still hasn’t materialized, Seagen is forging ahead with a deal of its own, grabbing rights to a bispecific antibody drug from Lava Therapeutics. 

By Jacob Bell • Sept. 26, 2022