Merck’s EyeBio acquisition brings a lead program ready for pivotal testing in diabetic macular edema. The therapy could pose competition to Eylea, the blockbuster Regeneron Pharmaceuticals eye drug.

The post Merck Sees Pipeline Diversification Opportunity in $1.3B EyeBio Acquisition appeared first on MedCity News.

Click Therapeutics is acquiring the assets of Better Therapeutics two months after that digital therapeutics developer announced it would lay off all employees and shut down. Better’s main asset is AspyreRx, an FDA-authorized mobile app for type 2 diabetes.

The post With M&A Deal, Click Therapeutics’ Digital Prospects in Metabolic Disease Get Better appeared first on MedCity News.

Biogen’s acquisition of Human Immunology Biosciences brings a drug candidate with potential applications in multiple immune-mediated disorders. The deal comes just prior to the scheduled presentation of clinical data in two of them.

The post Biogen Immunology Strategy Comes Into Focus With $1B HI-Bio Acquisition appeared first on MedCity News.

Johnson & Johnson’s Proteologix acquisition adds a pipeline of bispecific antibodies, including an experimental treatment for asthma and atopic dermatitis. It’s the latest M&A deal involving molecules addressing TSLP, a key signaling protein involved in inflammation.

The post J&J Joins Chase for Hot Immunology Target With $850M Proteologix Acquisition appeared first on MedCity News.

Takeda Pharmaceutical has secured an option on an Alzheimer’s disease immunotherapy from AC Immune that is on track to report its first Phase 2 data later this quarter. Exercising the option would make Takeda responsible for Phase 3 testing of the therapy, putting AC Immune in line for up to $2.1 billion in milestone payments.

The post Takeda Commits $100M for Chance to Bring Immunotherapy to Alzheimer’s Disease appeared first on MedCity News.

Pepper Bio has licensed rights to lerociclib, a molecule that G1 Therapeutics designed to offer dosing and safety advantages over approved therapies in the same drug class. EQRx previously held rights to the drug, but returned them after the company was acquired last year.

The post Pepper Bio’s ‘Google Maps for Drug Discovery’ Finds Way to Potential New Liver Cancer Drug appeared first on MedCity News.

Ono Pharmaceutical’s acquisition of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals adds to a cancer drug pipeline that already spans multiple modalities. Deciphera develops drugs that target the on-off switch of enzymes that drive cancer cell growth.

The post Ono Pharma’s Plan to Become a Global Player Picks Up a New Piece With $2.4B Deciphera Acquisition appeared first on MedCity News.

Labcorp’s $239 million offer was selected as the winning bid for the assets of genetic testing company Invitae, which filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year. The acquisition deal, Labcorp’s second in the past month, will enable it to expand in oncology and rare diseases.

The post Labcorp Makes Another Acquisition, Plucking Invitae Assets From Bankruptcy Auction appeared first on MedCity News.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is collaborating with CRISPR technologies startup Mammoth Biosciences to develop in vivo gene-editing therapies. The deal marks the third pharmaceutical industry partnership for Mammoth, which initially focused on developing CRISPR-based diagnostics.

The post Regeneron Bets $100M That Mammoth’s CRISPR Tech Can Deliver on Next Wave of Genetic Medicines appeared first on MedCity News.

Novartis gains global rights to an Arvinas protein degrading drug that targets the androgen receptor to treat prostate cancer. The deal also includes a preclinical molecule addressing an androgen receptor variant.

The post Novartis Pays $150M to Nab a Phase 3-Ready Protein Degrader for Prostate Cancer appeared first on MedCity News.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals gains a Phase 3-ready Alpine Immune Sciences drug with potential applications in a wide range of immunological disorders. The lead indication for the Alpine drug, povetacicept, is the chronic kidney disease IgA nephropathy.

The post Vertex Pharma Bolsters Immunology Profile With $4.9B Alpine Immune Sciences Acquisition appeared first on MedCity News.

Antibody specialist Genmab makes most of its money from drugs developed and commercialized by partners. Acquiring ProfoundBio brings antibody drug conjugates that Genmab can develop on its own as it continues diversifying its business beyond strategic alliances.

The post Genmab Adds More ADC Firepower With $1.8B ProfoundBio Acquisition appeared first on MedCity News.

Labcorp is buying the clinical diagnostics and reproductive women’s health businesses of BioReference Health, excluding those assets in New York and New Jersey. Labcorp has returned to being fully focused on lab testing after last year’s spinoff of Fortrea, its former clinical trial services business.

The post Labcorp’s $237M Tuck-In Deal Brings Lab Testing Assets From BioReference Health appeared first on MedCity News.

Novo Nordisk’s strategy to grow beyond metabolic diseases includes expanding into adjacent areas such as cardiovascular disease. Acquiring Cardior Pharmaceuticals adds a novel RNA-based therapy that is a potential heart failure treatment.

The post Novo Nordisk Expands Cardio Reach by Buying Heart Drugs Biotech Cardior appeared first on MedCity News.

Mirador Therapeutics applies machine learning to human data to discover new immunology and inflammation drugs. The startup’s management includes several from the executive team of Prometheus Biosciences, an immunology biotech bought by Merck last year.

The post Precision Medicine Startup Mirador Unveils $400M for R&D of New I&I Drugs appeared first on MedCity News.

AstraZeneca’s Fusion Pharmaceuticals acquisition is the latest in a wave of M&A activity that includes recent deals by Eli Lilly and Bristol Myers Squibb. The lead Fusion program is in mid-stage clinical development for treating advanced prostate cancer.

The post AstraZeneca Joins Radiopharma Deals Spree With $2B Fusion Acquisition appeared first on MedCity News.

Placing research in the hands of a large pharmaceutical company is a goal of many biotech companies. IFM Therapeutics has now done it three times and its latest deal is the second time Novartis is the acquirer.

The post Novartis Pays $90M for Molecules That Could Take STING Out of Inflammation appeared first on MedCity News.

Sosei Heptares’ schizophrenia drug candidate addresses a novel, difficult-to-drug target for neurological disorders. Boehringer Ingelheim can exercise its option on the small molecule following a Phase 1 test expected to yield data in 2025.

The post Boehringer Ingelheim Places €25M Bet on Sosei’s Novel Approach to Schizophrenia appeared first on MedCity News.

Gilead Sciences’ partnership with Merus could yield novel antibody drugs capable of binding to three targets simultaneously. The alliance follows a collaboration that Gilead started last year with Tentarix Biotherapeutics, a startup also developing antibodies that bind to multiple targets.

The post Gilead Sciences Signs Yet Another R&D Alliance for Multi-Target Cancer Therapies appeared first on MedCity News.

Astellas Pharma is working with Kelonia Therapeutics, a startup that develops in vivo CAR T-therapies with technology that precisely delivers genetic cargo to cells. The collaboration combines this tech with a platform from Xyphos Biosciences, a cell therapy developer that Astellas acquired in 2019.

The post Astellas’s CAR Tech Deals Speed Up Its Pursuit of In Vivo Cancer Cell Therapies appeared first on MedCity News.

After Novo Holdings acquires Catalent, it will sell three of the contract manufacturing giant’s sites to Novo Nordisk. Those facilities already make Novo Nordisk’s GLP-1 drugs for metabolic conditions, and they will help the company meet projected demand for these products in years to come.

The post Novo Holdings Bolsters GLP-1 Production Capacity With $16.5B Catalent Buyout appeared first on MedCity News.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is paying $5 million up front for 2seventy bio’s cancer drug pipeline. 2seventy will now focus on a cell therapy commercialized with partner Bristol Myers Squibb while Regeneron adds assets for its newly formed cell therapy division.

The post Regeneron Acquires Cancer Drug Pipeline, Creates New Cell Therapy Division appeared first on MedCity News.

Sanofi and Synthekine will work together to develop cytokine therapies for inflammatory diseases. This new alliance comes as Sanofi is salvaging a different cytokine therapy that showed disappointing efficacy in Phase 2 after the pharma giant acquired it in a $2.5 billion deal.

The post Sanofi Tries Again With Cytokines, Inking R&D Alliance With Startup Synthekine appeared first on MedCity News.

Sanofi is acquiring Inhibrx to get its hands on a drug candidate in pivotal testing for the protein deficiency alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, which leads to lung and liver problems. Inhibrx’s remaining assets will be spun out into a new company.

The post Sanofi Commits $1.7B to Buy an Entire Company, But Wants Just a Single Drug appeared first on MedCity News.

BridgeBio will receive $500 million in exchange for royalties from sales of acoramidis, a drug currently under FDA review for treating heart complications caused by the rare disease transthyretin amyloidosis. The deal also refinances lending agreements, providing BridgeBio with access to additional capital.

The post Gearing Up to Challenge Pfizer in a Rare Disease, BridgeBio Secures Up to $1.25B appeared first on MedCity News.

Johnson & Johnson’s acquisition of antibody drug conjugate developer Ambrx Biopharma comes as Novartis and Merck also unveiled M&A deals on the first day of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference. In a report, the bank said big pharmas are looking for deals involving de-risked assets.

The post J&J Joins the Cancer ADC Dealmaking Spree With $2B Ambrx Acquisition appeared first on MedCity News.

Novartis is paying Voyager Therapeutics $100 million up front to collaborate on gene therapies for Huntington’s disease and spinal muscular atrophy. The deal builds on a relationship the companies started in 2022.

The post Novartis Returns to Voyager Therapeutics to Reach New Gene Therapy Destinations appeared first on MedCity News.

AstraZeneca is paying $1 billion up front to acquire Gracell Biotechnologies, a clinical-stage cell therapy developer. The deal is the latest in a series of AstraZeneca moves intended to expand its presence in the burgeoning cell therapy field.

The post AstraZeneca Goes With Gracell to Gain an Edge in Next-Generation Cell Therapies appeared first on MedCity News.

By acquiring RayzeBio, Bristol Myers Squibb gains a pipeline of radiopharmaceuticals and the infrastructure for manufacturing these targeted cancer therapies. In the second half of 2023 alone, BMS has committed about $24 billion to business development deals.

The post Bristol Myers Squibb Makes Another M&A Move, Striking $4B Deal for RayzeBio appeared first on MedCity News.

GSK gains rights to a Hansoh Pharma antibody drug conjugate that targets a protein abundant on lung cancer cells and other types of solid tumors. The pharmaceutical giant plans to start its own slate of clinical trials with this ADC in 2024.

The post GSK Expands Again in Cancer, Paying Hansoh $185M for Another ADC appeared first on MedCity News.