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

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

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

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

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