Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH signed a €1.058 billion (US$1.26 billion) deal with Simcere Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. to license select rights to SIM-0709, a preclinical TL1A/IL-23p19-directed bispecific antibody targeting inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Seamless Therapeutics has received big pharma endorsement of its proprietary recombinase gene editing platform, sealing a potential $1.12 billion deal with Eli Lilly and Co. to apply the technology in hearing loss.

Medtronic plc acted on the increase in M&A and expansion of its investment ecosystem touted at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference earlier this month with a $90 million infusion into Brisbane, Australia-based Anteris Technologies Global Corp. The investment had been contingent on a public offering of stock by Anteris, which it completed on Jan. 22. Together, the new funds for the biomimetic heart valve company totaled $320 million.

Zylox-Tonbridge Medical Technology Co. Ltd. plans to expand globally with M&As, company chairman and CEO Jonathon Zhong Zhao told BioWorld, starting with a stepwise acquisition of Optimed Holding GmbH and its subsidiaries, including Optimed Medizinische Instrumente GmbH.

Full-year biopharma deal value in 2025 reached $292.55 billion, the highest annual total in BioWorld’s records, following $78.93 billion in the fourth quarter (Q4). The annual total is a 27% increase from the $230.53 billion recorded in 2024.

After a “brutal” year, there is reason for optimism, with the fourth quarter seeing an upswing in deal numbers and the amount raised, according to the UK Bioindustry Association’s final tally of biotech financing in 2025.

Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH and Simcere Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. have entered into a license and collaboration agreement to develop SIM-0709 for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.

Shionogi & Co. Ltd. and Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co. Ltd. were involved in separate divestment transactions this week, with Shionogi buying out Pfizer Inc.’s stake in Viiv Healthcare Ltd. to lift its holding to 21.7%.

Despite pressure on drug pricing, an ongoing threat of tariffs and rising geopolitical tension, the outlook for dealmaking in 2026 is strong. Balanced against the fog of uncertainty, which the industry is navigating, is the stark reality of the coming patent cliff and the fact that the big pharma companies have access to $1.619 trillion with which to replenish their pipelines.

Shionogi & Co. Ltd. and Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co. Ltd. were involved in separate divestment transactions this week, with Shionogi buying out Pfizer Inc.’s stake in Viiv Healthcare Ltd. to lift its holding to 21.7%.