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

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

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

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

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

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

Boston Scientific to acquire Penumbra for $14.5B

With the planned purchase, Boston Scientific will gain a portfolio of devices to remove clots from blood vessels.

By Elise Reuter • Jan. 15, 2026

Alveus launches with $160M to advance MariTide-like obesity drug

The hefty funding will fuel Phase 2 testing of a drug with a similar mechanism to Amgen’s closely watched obesity drug, as well as an amylin-targeting weight loss medicine.

By Jonathan Gardner • Jan. 8, 2026

Lilly snaps up Ventyx for $1.2B in pursuit of oral immune drugs

The buyout is a bet by Lilly on an increasingly popular drug target known as NLRP3 inflammasomes, which are implicated in an array of conditions.

By Jonathan Gardner • Updated Jan. 8, 2026

Amgen buys protein-degrading startup Dark Blue for up to $840M

The deal hands Amgen a drug that destroys two proteins known to drive certain types of acute myeloid leukemia, a profile that could set it apart from current medications. 

By Gwendolyn Wu • Jan. 6, 2026

BioMarin to buy rare disease drugmaker Amicus for $4.8B

Analysts said the deal makes sense for BioMarin, as it offers a late-stage clinical asset as well as two marketed therapies that generated nearly $450 million over the first nine months of this year.

By Jacob Bell • Dec. 19, 2025

Sobi snaps up gout drug in $950M deal for startup Arthrosi

The deal revolves around a drug Sobi claimed could become the “therapy of choice” for people whose gout symptoms persist despite initial therapy. 

By Ben Fidler • Dec. 14, 2025