German company Tubulis GmbH, which emerged with a $12.3 million series A round and a next-generation antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) platform about six years ago, has commanded up to $5 billion in a buyout offer from Gilead Sciences Inc.

Biopharma financing values have shown quarterly volatility over the past decade, with surges often concentrated in specific quarters rather than evenly distributed throughout the year.

Biopharma financing values have shown quarterly volatility over the past decade, with surges often concentrated in specific quarters rather than evenly distributed throughout the year. The pandemic era marked a clear inflection point, and more recently, financing patterns have normalized with outsized quarters driving annual totals. In 2025, total financings accelerated as the year progressed, rising from $13.12 billion in the first quarter (Q1) to $18.92 billion in Q3 to a peak of $33.16 billion in Q4, the strongest quarter since early 2024.

French VC Andera Partners has reached the first close of its Biodiscovery Fund 7 at more than €300 million (US$349 million) and says it is on track to surpass the size of the previous fund, which closed at €456 million during the pandemic-driven boom of 2021.

French VC Andera Partners has reached the first close of its Biodiscovery Fund 7 at more than €300 million (US$349 million) and says it is on track to surpass the size of the previous fund, which closed at €456 million during the pandemic-driven boom of 2021.

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are a mature technology. The first ADC, Mylotarg, was initially approved in 2000, and there are now 14 approved agents in both leukemias and solid tumors. According to Clarivate’s Cortellis Drug Discovery & Intelligence, those drugs collectively accounted for $13.55 billion in sales in 2024 – a figure that Cortellis projects will rise to $16 billion in 2025.

The sodium-dependent phosphate transport protein 2b (NaPi2b), encoded by the SLC34A2 gene, is highly overexpressed in high-grade epithelial ovarian cancer and non-small-cell lung cancer while exhibiting minimal expression in normal adult tissues, making it a relevant tumor-associated antigen and a promising target for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).

Tubulis GmbH has sealed a potential $415 million option and licensing deal under which it will apply proprietary technologies to discover an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) against a solid tumor target for Gilead Sciences Inc.

The annual Companies to Watch report, which was just released, looks closely at seven companies flying under the radar that are developing antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for treating cancer. Companies examined in the new report are Adcendo ApS, Araris Biotech AG, Go Therapeutics Inc., Heidelberg Pharma AG, Pheon Therapeutics Ltd., Tallac Therapeutics Inc. and Tubulis GmbH.