Tenacia Biotechnology Co. Ltd. has acquired exclusive greater China rights to certain formulations of Marinus Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s seizure therapy, ganaxolone (Ztalmy), in a deal worth up to $266 million.

Merck & Co. Inc. is adding to its hematology assets in the takeover of Imago Biosciences Inc. for $36 per share, an arrangement with an equity value of about $1.35 billion. Shares of Imago (NASDAQ:IMGO) took flight as Wall Street learned of the deal, ending the day at $35.59, up $18.19, or 104%. Imago is working on new drugs for myeloproliferative neoplasms and other bone marrow diseases. Lead candidate bomedemstat (IMG-7289), an orally available inhibitor of the epigenetic enzyme lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1), is undergoing phase II trials for the treatment of essential thrombocythemia, myelofibrosis and polycythemia vera, along with other indications.

Digital health remains a primary driver of med-tech partnerships and mergers, accounting for 67.3% of all deal activity and 49.9% of the completed M&As in 2022.

Evolent Health Inc. agreed to acquire Magellan Specialty Health from Centene Corp. in a deal worth up to $750 million. The companies also reported a strategic partnership to continue and expand Centene’s relationship with Magellan Specialty Health.

Conditionally active antibody specialist Cytomx Therapeutics Inc. has agreed to work with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. to discover and develop new bispecific antibodies with what the partners said is the potential to "widen the therapeutic window and help minimize off-target effects."

The number of biopharma deals with nonprofit or government entities has dwindled in recent months, while industry grants are climbing. Combined, however, a total of 936 bio/nonprofit deals and grants worth $11.17 billion is down by 37% in comparison with last year’s $17.8 billion and by 58.7% in comparison with 2020’s $27 billion. The volume also is down significantly by 16.8% from 2021 and by 33.4% from 2020.

Nona Biosciences Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Harbour Biomed Therapeutics Ltd. launched in November to provide “idea to IND” services, has struck a deal with Moderna Inc. to develop nucleic acid-based immunotherapies. The candidates will be based on Harbour’s heavy chain only antibody discovery platform.

Momentum is building at Jnana Therapeutics Inc. The firm has raised $107 million in a series C round and banked another $50 million up front from a new drug discovery and development pact with Roche Holding AG, which could potentially deliver significant near-term milestones and more than $2 billion in future milestone payments. It also commenced recruitment onto a first-in-human study of its lead drug candidate, JNT-517, an inhibitor of the phenylalanine transporter SLC6A19, which is in development for phenylketonuria.