Deals & M&A

Private Company Edition: Former Merck R&D head Roger Perlmutter and his new team have accessed drug candidates in oncology and neurodegenerative diseases from three companies, along with new funding. Also, Carmot raised $150m in series E equity and BenchSci brought in $70m.

Alkem’s ‘affordable’ cetuximab biosimilar set to take on Erbitux in India, even as Merck KGaA pursues a court case seeking information and data related to efficacy and interchangeability of the Indian company's product.

The Swedish firm has decided to pass on a bid from a proposed buyer which would have involved a healthy premium but “considerably undervalued” its long-term prospects.

Dr Reddy’s is collaborating with innovator firms in China, Israel and the US largely in areas of unmet need, propelling its “Horizon-2” strategy that encompasses segments like biologics and cell and gene therapy, digital services and immuno-oncology NCEs, among others.

Scrip overviews biopharma deal-making in 2022 and discusses the Pfizer/Seagen merger and its ramifications for the remainder of 2023, with EF Hutton analyst Mike King and Mintz attorney Matt Gardella.

AvroBio retains rights to its other HSC gene therapy candidates. Alimera Acquires Further Commercial Rights To Eyepoint’s Uveitis Drug.

ElevateBio closed a series D venture capital round and revealed a potentially multibillion-dollar deal between its Life Edit subsidiary and Novo Nordisk as demand for its cell and gene therapy capabilities grow.

Concentra's unsolicited bid for Atea is the latest proof that promising but financially strapped biotechs that are trading below cash are prime M&A targets.

ReNAgade Therapeutics came out of stealth mode with $300m to fund its proprietary technology for delivery of RNA medicines – including coding, editing and gene insertion modalities – beyond the liver.

Ironwood said it believes VectivBio’s once-weekly GLP-2 analog apraglutide is differentiated from Takeda’s once-daily Gattex in short bowel syndrome and could generate $1bn in peak sales.

In this week's podcast edition of Five Must-Know Things: US FTC takes action on Amgen’s Horizon deal; Hassan and Jimenez share their CEO experiences; Novartis lays out Cosentyx plans; generally strong fiscal year for Japan’s pharma firms; and new Tagrisso data lift AstraZeneca.

Having just avoided going into administration, the firm formerly known as Midatech has pivoted its business model from a drug delivery company to a therapeutics player and has hit the acquisition trail.