While biopharma deals are not showing any drastic changes over last year, three areas that continue to dominate the landscape include the pandemic, oncology and cell and gene therapies. The lack of mega-mergers so far this year, specifically those above $10 billion, is also holding M&A values down by about 61% compared to this point in 2020, even though the number of mergers has climbed.

Castle Biosciences Inc. deepened the moat around its position in melanoma diagnostics with the acquisition of Myriad Mypath LLC from Myriad Genetics Inc. The acquisition gives Castle (NASDAQ:CSTL) the Myriad Mypath Laboratory in Salt Lake City where the Mypath Melanoma 23-gene expression profile (GEP) test is owned and offered. Mypath Melanoma joins Castle's Decisiondx Diffdx-Melanoma, enabling Castle to provide comprehensive molecular testing for difficult-to-diagnose melanocytic lesions.

PERTH, Australia – Advanced Human Imaging Ltd. (AHI) has created an algorithm that allows users to take a few quick scans on a smartphone to create a human avatar of themselves that can calculate risk for certain diseases and help diagnose conditions earlier, while also saving money. The Perth-based company is attracting a lot of attention, announcing three deals in the last week. The imaging technology has a myriad of uses from providing digital health scans to personal training to diagnosing skin cancers.

While biopharma deals are not showing any drastic changes over last year, three areas that continue to dominate the landscape include the pandemic, oncology and cell and gene therapies. The lack of mega-mergers so far this year, specifically those above $10 billion, is also holding M&A values down by about 61% compared to this point in 2020, even though the number of mergers has climbed.

HONG KONG – Qilu Pharmaceutical Ltd. has inked a deal for the global rights to Peptron Inc.’s antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) candidate PAb-001-ADC for the treatment of various cancers. Seoul, South Korea-based Peptron stands to receive an up-front payment of $3 million and $539 million in milestone payments, as well as royalties.

Cross-border startup Scineuro Pharmaceuticals Ltd., which focuses on central nervous system (CNS) diseases, inked a deal with Eli Lilly and Co. to license in the greater China rights of alpha-synuclein-targeted antibody therapies to follow the global drug development trend in this space.

Safeguard Medical LLC further consolidated its position in the first responder market with the acquisition of H&H Medical Corp. Williamsburg, Va.-based H&H produces military-grade trauma response products for field medics and emergency responders. "Our mission at Safeguard Medical is to equip and enable responders at every skill level to preserve life in any environment. The acquisition of H&H adds another trusted brand to our market-leading portfolio and expands our ability to partner with life-saving responders around the world," said Adam Johnson, Safeguard Medical’s CEO.

Prenetics Ltd. is working with Oxford University researchers again to develop molecular diagnostic testing for the new COVID-19 variants, six months after it acquired Oxsed Ltd., a University of Oxford University spinoff to enable rapid airport testing. On April 19, Hong Kong-based Prenetics inked a multimillion-dollar partnership with the University of Oxford and Oxford Suzhou Center for Advanced Research (OSCAR) to upgrade the molecular testing technology Oxlamp for infectious diseases.

In biotech and biopharma’s third-largest ever up-front development and commercialization deal, Crispr Therapeutics AG will receive an initial $900 million in an amended deal with Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. to lead the development, manufacturing and commercialization of gene editing therapy CTX-001 for sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia.