On the heels of the multibillion-dollar licensing deal between Bristol Myers Squibb Co. and Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd, Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI), of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urging him to add biotechnology as a prohibited technology under the Comprehensive Outbound Investment National Security (COINS) Act of 2025.
Eli Lilly and Co. has offered to buy three vaccine companies for up to $3.8 billion combined, including up to $1.55 billion for Vaccine Company Inc., whose in vivo nanoparticle (IVN) technologies are designed to enable antigens that elicit durable immune responses, much like virus-like particle (VLP) vaccines, but avoid the VLP manufacturing burden.
Medtronic plc is strengthening its pain management portfolio with its $650 million move to buy SPR Therapeutics Inc. and bring the company’s peripheral nerve stimulation system for sustained pain relief into its neuromodulation offering. The deal marks Medtronic’s third tuck-in deal so far this year, following its $585 million purchase of Cathworks Ltd. and $550 million acquisition of Scientia Vascular Inc., and is also a sign of the momentum in M&A activity in the medtech sector with other players making strategic acquisitions.
As the most active biopharma acquirer of 2026, Eli Lilly and Co. offered to buy three vaccine companies for up to $3.8 billion combined, while it simultaneously released positive early clinical results of a gene editing medicine brought into the fold last year through its buyout of Verve Therapeutics Inc.
Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. announced after South Korean market hours May 21 that it gained successive rights to Turn Biotechnologies Inc.’s mRNA-based cellular rejuvenation platform from Hanall Biopharma Co. Ltd.
The recent multibillion-dollar licensing alliance between Bristol Myers Squibb Co. and Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd is not an outlier, but rather the clearest sign yet that China’s biotech industry has entered a new phase of global influence.
Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. announced after South Korean market hours May 21 that it gained successive rights to Turn Biotechnologies Inc.’s mRNA-based cellular rejuvenation platform from Hanall Biopharma Co. Ltd.
The recent multibillion-dollar licensing alliance between Bristol Myers Squibb Co. and Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd is not an outlier, but rather the clearest sign yet that China’s biotech industry has entered a new phase of global influence.
Biopharma deal value through the first four months of 2026 reached $92.98 billion, outpacing every recent year and running well ahead of 2025’s strong $79.82 billion over the same period. January and February each cleared $30 billion, while March and April totaled $18.05 billion and $13.3 billion, respectively.