Biopharma deal value through the first half (H1) of 2026 totaled $170.11 billion, the highest H1 total in BioWorld’s records by a wide margin and a 22% increase from H1 2025’s $139.35 billion, the previous record high. Both quarters were strong, with the first quarter (Q1) contributing $79.71 billion and Q2 jumping to $90.4 billion, the highest single quarter on record after edging past Q4 2024’s $80.65 billion.

Sprint Bioscience AB has entered into an agreement to use Lilly Tunelab, Eli Lilly and Co.’s AI-based drug discovery platform, to support work on its research portfolio.

Scoring high marks on two more phase III obesity trials, this time involving serious type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular complications, Eli Lilly and Co. has cleared the path for a BLA filing for its triple-G candidate retatrutide, which many expect will eventually surpass the top two marketed drugs in the space.

Biopharma deal value through the first half (H1) of 2026 reached $170.11 billion, surpassing every prior year in BioWorld’s records, including 2025’s $139.35 billion, the previous high-water mark. June was the second-strongest month of H1 at $34.59 billion, trailing only May’s $41.95 billion.

Biopharma deal value through the first half (H1) of 2026 reached $170.11 billion, surpassing every prior year in BioWorld’s records, including 2025’s $139.35 billion, the previous high-water mark. June was the second-strongest month of H1 at $34.59 billion, trailing only May’s $41.95 billion.

Rumblings that psychedelic treatments would soon be ready for prime time gained credence aplenty, and shares of Ataibeckley Inc. (NASDAQ:ATAI) ended July 16 at $7.15, up $1.79, or 33%, as Wall Street learned that Eli Lilly and Co. is taking over the psychedelics firm for $6.75 per share in cash plus up to $2.50 per share in the form of a contingent value right related to milestones for two Ataibeckley compounds.

The U.K. is setting up a nationwide registry of people with dementia, who will be pre-screened and consented, to speed up recruitment to clinical trials and collect real-world evidence of effectiveness once therapies are approved.

The House Select Committee on China launched an investigation into clinical trials involving U.S. companies that are conducted at Chinese military hospitals and in Xinjiang, China.