Roche AG has become the latest pharmaceutical company to respond to the Trump administration’s threat to impose tariffs, saying it will invest $50 billion in drug and diagnostics manufacturing in the U.S. over the next five years. That figure matches a similar commitment by its Basel, Switzerland-based neighbor, Novartis AG, which on April 11 said it would be investing almost $50 billion in the U.S., also over the next five years.
Biopharma deal value declined in the first three months of 2025 compared to the previous quarter, but remained above the 2024 quarterly average of $57.63 billion. In the first quarter (Q1), biopharma deals totaled $66.86 billion across 330 transactions, a decrease from $80.65 billion in Q4 2024, which saw 372 deals. However, this was a significant value increase from Q1 2024, when deals amounted to $44.32 billion across 376 transactions.
Oxford Biotherapeutics Ltd. is partnering with Roche AG to expand the current field of tumor antigens that can be drugged with antibodies, as part of a potential $1 billion-plus agreement. The agreement will see Oxford Biotherapeutics apply its membrane protein discovery platform to search for novel cancer cell antigens, which will be validated through the research collaboration, with Roche then taking the lead in advancing any resulting antibody programs.
In what it says is the biggest obesity deal to date, Zealand Pharma A/S has signed up Roche AG to a potential $5.3 billion global collaboration and license agreement to develop petrelintide, an amylin analog that is currently in phase IIb development. The two companies will co-develop and co-commercialize petrelintide and combination products, including a fixed-dose combination of petrelintide and CT-388, Roche’s dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist.
Roche AG secured U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance for its cobas liat sexually transmitted infection (STI) multiplex assay panels. The tests, which also received a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments waiver, will enable clinicians to detect several STIs including chlamydia, gonorrhea and Mycoplasma genitalium, in as little as 20 minutes.
Roche AG’s disclosure in December that prasinezumab, partnered with Prothena plc, fell short of its primary phase IIb endpoint put the spotlight on microtubule binding region (MTBR)-targeting therapies in neurological disorders.
Despite positive preliminary data from its early stage study of treating hives, Jasper Therapeutics Inc. saw its stock drop dramatically on Jan. 8. Results were from the ongoing phase Ib/IIa study of the monoclonal antibody and lead candidate briquilimab in treating chronic spontaneous urticaria, often referred to as hives. The results showed clinical responses across several of the dosing cohorts. The treatment also displayed a favorable safety profile.
Sangamo Therapeutics Inc.’s stock sank sharply on the last day of 2025 as Pfizer Inc. handed back the rights to their collaborative gene therapy hemophilia A program. While it was another big loss to Sangamo, which had seen two other major deals fall through in the past two years, the company still has two large collaborations in development.
Sangamo Therapeutics Inc.’s second large, worldwide licensing deal for its capsid technology in the past five months is with Astellas Pharma Inc. The California-based company is getting $20 million up front and the chance to bring in up to $1.3 billion in fees and milestone payments in an agreement spanning five potential disease targets for gene therapies to treat neurological diseases.
