London Strategy

Gilead to buy CymaBay in $4.3B deal for liver disease drug The acquisition would hand Gilead a now-under-review medicine for primary biliary cholangitis, a chronic condition affecting some 130,000 people in the U.S. Gilead Sciences will acquire CymaBay Therapeutics and the biotechnology company’s liver disease drug in a $4.3 billion deal announced Monday. The proposed buyout would hand Gilead an experimental medicine for primary biliary cholangitis, or PBC, a chronic condition characterized by the toxic build-up of bile acid in the liver. CymaBay disclosed Monday that the Food and Drug Administration has accepted its application for the drug, called seladelpar, and will decide on approval by mid-August. #lifesciences #pharmaceuticals #biotechnology #medtech #pharmanews #mergerandacquisition

Novartis to acquire cancer-focused MorphoSys for $2.9 billion Drugmaker Novartis AG (NOVN.S), opens new tab  said it will acquire MorphoSys AG (MORG.DE), opens new tab , a developer of cancer treatments, for 2.7 billion euros ($2.9 billion), adding a promising rare bone-marrow cancer treatment candidate to its portfolio. Reuters first reported on Monday that Switzerland-based Novartis was in advanced talks to acquire MorphoSys, leading to the German biotech firm's shares surging more than 40%. #lifesciences #pharmaceuticals #biotechnology #medtech #pharmanews #mergerandacquisition

France's Sanofi to buy U.S. drugs project INBRX-101 for about $2.2 billion French healthcare company Sanofi (SASY.PA), opens new tab  has agreed to buy U.S. biotech firm Inhibrx (INBX.O), opens new tab  in a deal valued at up to $2.2 billion, bolstering its drug development portfolio with an experimental treatment for a rare genetic disease. The companies said the deal will give Sanofi access to Inhibrx's INBRX-101, currently in the second of three phases of clinical trials, while its other experimental drugs will be spun off into a separate company, with Sanofi retaining an 8% stake. #lifesciences #pharmaceuticals #biotechnology #medtech #pharmanews #mergerandacquisition

Sun Pharma to acquire Taro shares for $347.73m The board of both companies have granted unanimous approval for the merger. Sun Pharmaceutical has signed a definitive merger agreement for the acquisition of all outstanding ordinary shares of Taro Pharmaceutical not currently owned by the company or its affiliates for $347.73m (Rs28.92bn) in cash. The acquisition price is $43 per share in cash without interest for 8,086,818 shares, which represent 21.52% of the total outstanding Taro shares. In an intimation letter published on 12 December 2023, Sun Pharma expressed interest in a takeover of Taro. Taro focuses on developing off-patent pharmaceuticals. It supplies a variety of prescription and over-the-counter products such as tablets, capsules and topical formulations to markets including the US, Canada and Israel. The merger was recommended by a special committee comprising directors of Taro, after thorough analysis and consultation with financial and legal advisors. #lifesciences #pharmaceuticals #biotechnology #medtech #pharmanews #mergerandacquisition

GSK agrees to buy respiratory medicine specialist Aiolos Bio for $1.4bn UK pharma group hopes acquisition of three-month start-up will broaden its range of asthma treatments GSK has struck a $1.4bn deal to acquire Anglo-American biotech Aiolos Bio, which makes respiratory medicines, as the British pharma group seeks to broaden its range of asthma treatments. The acquisition will give GSK access to a treatment entering mid-stage trials, Aiolos’s AIO-001. Tony Wood, chief scientific officer of GSK, said the asthma drug could “expand the reach of our current respiratory biologics portfolio, including to the 40 per cent of severe asthma patients . . . where treatment options are still needed”. Aiolos launched just three months ago, after raising $245mn in financing from investors including Atlas Venture and Bain, but its treatment is ready to enter mid-stage, phase II trials, according to GSK. The group will pay $1bn upfront to acquire the San Francisco and London based biotech, with up to $400mn in milestone payments to come. #pharmaceuticals #biotechnology #lifesciences #mergersandacquisitions #pharmanews

J&J to acquire ADC drug developer Ambrx for $2B The all-cash deal was the largest of three biotech company acquisitions announced at the start of the J.P. Morgan healthcare conference Monday. Johnson & Johnson will pay $2 billion to acquire Ambrx Biopharma and the San Diego biotechnology company’s pipeline of targeted drugs for cancer. The deal’s announcement Monday coincides with the start of the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, which is typically viewed as a jumping-off point for industry dealmaking in the new year. Also on Monday, Merck & Co. said it has agreed to purchase the cancer drug developer Harpoon Therapeutics, and Novartis reached a deal to buy the privately held Calypso Biotech. All told, the three transactions represent nearly $3 billion in total upfront value — similar to what was announced at the beginning of last year’s J.P. Morgan meeting. #pharmaceuticals #biotechnology #lifesciences #mergersandacquisitions #biotechnews

Merck to buy Harpoon Therapeutics for $680 million Jan 8 (Reuters) - Merck & Co (MRK.N) said on Monday it would buy cancer drug developer Harpoon Therapeutics (HARP.O) for about $680 million, reinforcing its oncology portfolio with immunotherapies. The U.S. drugmaker has been doubling down on building future revenue streams as its blockbuster immunotherapy, Keytruda, inches closer to losing key patents, opening the doors for competition from biosimilars. Merck has offered $23 per share in cash for California-based Harpoon, representing a 118% premium to the stock's last close on Friday. #pharmaceuticals #biotechnology #lifesciences #mergersandacquisitions #pharmanews

Novartis dances into JPM with $250M Calypso buyout, $185M RNAi alliance Novartis danced into a big week in the biopharma calendar with a trio of deals. The Swiss drugmaker is paying $250 million to renew its interest in a cytokine, dropping $185 million on two RNAi cardiovascular disease candidates and handing over $37.5 million to partner with an AI-enabled biotech. #pharmaceuticals #biotechnology #lifesciences #mergersandacquisitions #biotechnews

AstraZeneca to advance haematology cell therapy. The new acquisition grants AstraZeneca rights to a new CAR-T cell therapy with a differentiated manufacturing process that could provide a potential best-in-class blood cancer treatment. For an upfront price of $1.0 billion, AstraZeneca has agreed to acquire Gracell Biotechnologies, supporting the development of cell therapies in haematology and autoimmune diseases. Gracell’s FasTCAR-enabled B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)/CD19 dual-targeting autologous CAR-T cell therapy GC012F, is an asset AstraZeneca will gain access to as part of the new acquisition agreement announced on 26 December 2023. The novel treatment is being studied in multiple haematologic malignancies and autoimmune diseases. In the US, a Phase Ib/II trial is evaluating GC012F for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The cell therapy also has potential in other haematologic malignancies, as well as autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), AstraZeneca highlighted. #pharmaceuticals #lifesciences #mergersandacquisitions #pharmanews

First Wave BioPharma To Acquire ImmunogenX In All-stock Transaction Biopharmaceutical company First Wave BioPharma, Inc. (FWBI) announced Monday that the company has signed a non-binding term sheet to acquire biotherapeutics company ImmunogenX in an all-stock transaction. The combined company will focus on advancing a GI pipeline comprised of multiple late-stage clinical assets, including latiglutenase and capeserod, which First Wave BioPharma recently in-licensed from Sanofi. #pharmaceuticals #biotechnology #lifesciences #biotechnews #mergersandacquisitions