Deals
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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 -
Emerging biotech
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 -
Obesity drugs
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 -
Obesity drugs
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