Japanese industrial conglomerate Asahi Kasei Corp. has made an offer to acquire Swedish rare diseases specialist Calliditas Therapeutics AB for SEK11.8 billion (US$1.1 billion). The offer, at an 83% premium to the closing share price of SEK113.60 on Monday, May 27, is recommended by the three biggest shareholders and the board of Calliditas, which said the company would benefit from “being part of a larger platform.”

Nordson Corp. said it will buy Atrion Corp. for $460 per share in cash, representing a total equity value of approximately $815 million. The transaction enterprise value reflects a multiple of 20.2 times Atrion's 2023 EBITDA, and the $460 per share price represents a 15% premium to Atrion's 90-day average daily volume-weighted average stock price.

Cambridge, U.K.-based Astrazeneca plc is looking to Asia, specifically China and Singapore, to build an innovative cancer-focused pipeline filled with antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) and cell therapies.

Despite the ongoing war, speakers at Biomed Israel this week reported that business and investment in Israel’s med-tech industry continues largely unchanged.

“In an impressive eight-month timeline,” South Korea’s Lunit Inc. completed the $193 million (AU$292 million) acquisition of Volpara Health Technologies Ltd. to globally advance artificial intelligence (AI)-based cancer care.

Shanghai- and San Diego-based Degron Therapeutics Inc. secured a potential $1.2 billion deal with Tokyo-headquartered Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. May 23 for a multitarget collaboration and exclusive licensing agreement for molecular glue degraders. “It is a breakthrough technology in the small-molecule drug discovery field,” Degron CEO Lily Zou told BioWorld. “People talk about cell and gene therapy, but small molecules are still the mainstream of drug discovery, [with] more reach.”

Shanghai- and San Diego-based Degron Therapeutics Inc. secured a potential $1.2 billion deal with Tokyo-headquartered Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. May 23 for a multitarget collaboration and exclusive licensing agreement for molecular glue degraders. “It is a breakthrough technology in the small-molecule drug discovery field,” Degron CEO Lily Zou told BioWorld. “People talk about cell and gene therapy, but small molecules are still the mainstream of drug discovery, [with] more reach.”

In a deal worth up to $1.8 billion, Biogen Inc. is buying Human Immunology Biosciences Inc. (Hibio), bolstering its late-stage immune-disease treatment portfolio and diversifying its pipeline. The massive amount comprises $1.15 billion up front and as much as $650 in potential milestone payments. The deal in rare diseases brings Biogen phase III-ready felzartamab, a fully human monoclonal antibody that selectively depletes CD38-positive plasma cells and natural killer cells. Hibio also is developing izastobart, an anti-C5aR1 antibody. Both assets were in-licensed from Morphosys AG in June 2022. Hibio also has mast cell programs in the discovery stage.

Milleporesigma, Merck KGaA’s North American life sciences business, agreed to acquire Mirus Bio LLC from Gamma Biosciences LP for $600 million. Mirus develops tailored transfection solutions that deliver nucleic acid into cells used in production of viral vector-based gene therapies. It also provides contract development and manufacturing services. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024, subject to U.S. regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

Nuvo Group Ltd. recently completed a business combination with Los Angeles Media Fund (LAMF) Global Ventures Corp, a special purpose acquisition company, and became a listed company in a bid to bring its Invu pregnancy monitoring and management platform to as many women as possible. “We are totally focused on women's health and trying to drive better outcomes through pregnancy care,” Rice Powell, CEO of Nuvo, told BioWorld.