All-stock merger will create new company owned 75% by Adaptimmune’s shareholders. Grifols, Selagine to explore antibody approach to treating dry eye disease, and other recent deals.

The recent partnerships on Claudin 18.2-targeting agents between Chinese biotechs and big pharma have brought China innovation to a new phase that Chinese firms can be proud of, an executive from Keymed Biosciences, one of the Chinese biotechs involved in such deals, tells Scrip in an interview.

After inking recent jumbo licensing deals with Merck & Co., Kelun sheds more light on a partnership that traces back to 2020. The Chinese generics-focused firm also elaborates on the design rationale behind its antibody-drug conjugate programs, including the potential competitive benefits of its asset targeting Claudin 18.2.

During Q4, biopharma merger and acquisition value reached $35.7bn and drew in $62.1bn in potential deal value from alliances. Device company M&A values reached $19.2bn, while in vitro diagnostic firms and research tools players completed M&A activity that totaled $4.8bn.