Olix Pharmaceuticals Inc. walked the talk in realizing a new $630 million licensing deal with Eli Lilly and Co. for its cardiovascular and metabolic disease asset, OLX-702A (OLX-75016), rallying stock by 30% after it had largely recovered from a terminated deal with France’s Théa Open Innovation last year.

In a deal that Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Eric Schmidt characterized as “capital recycling at its best,” Alumis Inc. and Acelyrin Inc. are merging in an all-stock transaction. The combined pipelines include Alumis’ most advanced prospect, ESK-001, an oral, next-generation, allosteric inhibitor of tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2). ESK-001 is undergoing the phase III Onward study for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis as well as the phase II Lumus bid in systemic lupus erythematosus.

BioWorld’s three-part analysis of M&As sought to discover successful transactions and to understand the trend of multibillion-dollar deals that have become commonplace in the last decade. Instead, more than 80% of the acquisitions explored simply indicate that buyers are paying too much, suggesting that transactions meant to restore pipelines and revenues with innovative and marketed products are sometimes akin to high-stakes gambling. In part three, the final part of this series, we examine four more disappointments in which the return on investment (ROI) remains well behind the price paid in acquiring the company.

To say that European investors are optimistic about the outlook for the med-tech sector in 2025 is an understatement. A couple of companies are already listed on public markets, acquisitions have been undertaken and med-tech players with cash-rich balance sheets are on the hunt.

In keeping with the trend in med tech to return to basics, Becton, Dickinson and Co. plans to split off its biosciences and diagnostic solutions unit to create two pure-play companies. The ‘New BD’ or RemainCo. will be a focused medical technology company that will include the current company’s medication delivery, specimen management, patient monitoring, pharmaceutical systems, urology, critical care, peripheral intervention and surgery businesses.

Globus Medical Inc. reported it is buying Nevro Corp. in an all-cash transaction. Under the terms of the agreement, which was unanimously approved by the boards of both companies, Globus will acquire all shares of Nevro for $5.85 per share. The transaction represents a total equity value of approximately $250 million.

Chinese biotechs are increasingly seeking deals with multinational companies, and those deal structures are getting more creative. The “newco” deal structure is getting a lot of attention, but the barrier for entry is quite high for this type of deal, Morrison Foerster Shanghai Managing Partner Chuan Sun told BioWorld.

Due diligence plays a significant role in M&A transactions, but the eventual return on investments don’t always add up to the purchase price. While some companies such as Abbvie Inc. and Bristol Myers Squibb Co. – as shown in part one of this three-part series – have succeeded in acquiring products able to surpass M&A sticker prices, the vast majority of deals analyzed by BioWorld showed that most buyers remain significantly in the red.

Inflammatory diseases specialist AB2 Bio Ltd. has signed a potential $686 million U.S. commercialization deal for its interleukin-18 neutralizing drug tadekinig. The agreement with Japanese pharma company Nippon Shinyaku Co. Ltd. includes an initial payment of $6 million, with a further $30 million due later this year.