Med-tech deal value, excluding M&As, totaled $628.41 million in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, an increase of about 322% from the $149.08 million recorded in Q1 2025 though a 36% drop from Q4 2025‘s $978.58 million.

Just over a month after emerging from stealth and disclosing a $150 million series A, Korsana Biosciences Inc. is making the leap to the public market via a merger with Cyclerion Therapeutics Inc.  The agreement, which is backed by a $370 million private placement from Korsana’s investors, solidly positions the newly merged company as it heads toward the clinic with KRSA-028, a next-generation shuttled antibody targeting amyloid beta for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, and builds out a pipeline of neurodegenerative disease candidates.

Just over a month after emerging from stealth and disclosing a $150 million series A, Korsana Biosciences Inc. is making the leap to the public market via a merger with Cyclerion Therapeutics Inc.  The agreement, which is backed by a $370 million private placement from Korsana’s investors, solidly positions the newly merged company as it heads toward the clinic with KRSA-028, a next-generation shuttled antibody targeting amyloid beta for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, and builds out a pipeline of neurodegenerative disease candidates.

Eli Lilly and Co. is deepening its investment in artificial intelligence-driven drug discovery through a multibillion-dollar expansion of its collaboration with Hong-Kong listed Insilico Medicine Inc. in a move that could broaden its reach into next-generation metabolic therapies. Under the deal terms, Insilico is eligible to receive $115 million up front, plus development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments worth $2.75 billion, in addition to sales-based royalties. In exchange, Lilly gains exclusive global rights to develop and commercialize multiple candidates generated using Insilico’s AI platform, including preclinical oral therapies.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. is taking a neuroplastogen approach to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) through its planned $1.22 billion acquisition of Transcend Therapeutics Inc. The deal gives Tokyo-headquartered Otsuka access to Transcend’s lead asset, TSND-201, an oral neuroplastogen that has begun patient recruitment for a phase III study in the U.S.

Galapagos NV is about to bury its recent turbulent past and sail off for the future with its $3 billion cash pile and the new name of Lakefront Biotherapeutics NV. The foundation for the transition was laid earlier this month in an arrangement with Gilead Sciences Inc., holder of 25% of Galapagos’ equity, to “co-parent” the assets of Ouro Medicines LLC, which Gilead is acquiring for up to $2.17 billion.

Biogen Inc. hardly blinked at the competition faced by Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc. as the two companies sealed a deal whereby the former has agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of the latter for $41 each, or about $5.6 billion.

Eli Lilly and Co. plans to buy Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc for $6.3 billion in up-front cash and another potential $1.5 billion through contingent value rights, gaining access to a pipeline of orexin receptor 2 agonists for sleep disorders. The Indianapolis-based pharma is re-entering a field that has multibillion-dollar potential and one that could emulate the success seen with its obesity program. Centessa, of Boston and London, has a lead candidate, cleminorexton (formerly ORX-750), with positive phase IIa data in narcolepsy types 1 and 2 and idiopathic hypersomnia.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. is taking a neuroplastogen approach to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) through its planned $1.22 billion acquisition of Transcend Therapeutics Inc. The deal gives Tokyo-headquartered Otsuka access to Transcend’s lead asset, TSND-201, an oral neuroplastogen that has begun patient recruitment for a phase III study in the U.S.

Eli Lilly and Co. is deepening its investment in artificial intelligence-driven drug discovery through a multibillion-dollar expansion of its collaboration with Hong-Kong listed Insilico Medicine Inc. in a move that could broaden its reach into next-generation metabolic therapies.