Genentech Inc. is paying $200 million up front and up to $1.5 billion in milestone payments to license one of Suzhou Sanegene Bio Inc.’s RNAi programs. Metabolic and autoimmune-focused Sanegene did not disclose specifics around the licensed candidate, except that it was derived from its LEAD (Ligand and Enhancer Assisted Delivery) platform.

Shionogi & Co. Ltd. and Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co. Ltd. were involved in separate divestment transactions this week, with Shionogi buying out Pfizer Inc.’s stake in Viiv Healthcare Ltd. to lift its holding to 21.7%.

After raising $292 million in its Hong Kong IPO, AI discovery and development biotech, Insilico Medicine, signed an R&D collaboration with French pharma Servier SA valued at $888 million to discover and develop innovative oncology therapies by combining Insilico's AI-driven drug discovery platforms with Servier's global expertise in cancer drug development.

The newly released 2026 edition of Clarivate’s Drugs to Watch report highlights 11 potential blockbusters that could change treatment paradigms for patients.

Jacobio Pharmaceuticals Group Co. Ltd. is outlicensing its phase I pan-KRAS inhibitor, JAB-23E73, to Astrazeneca plc in a global deal worth up to $1.915 billion that gives Astrazeneca global rights to the compound outside of China, and the two companies will jointly develop and commercialize the asset in China.

ADEL Inc. closed a year-end licensing deal worth up to $1.04 billion with Sanofi SA for ADEL-Y01, a specific tau-targeting Alzheimer’s disease drug candidate in a U.S. phase I study.

Qyuns Therapeutics Co. Ltd. signed a potential $1.07 billion license deal with Roche Holding AG, granting the latter exclusive rights to QX-031N – a human thymic stromal lymphopoietin and interleukin-33)-targeting bispecific antibody.

In 2025, the biopharma industry has undergone a wave of workforce reductions that surpasses previous years’ trends. Multiple major pharma companies have announced sizeable job cuts, driven by a convergence of shifting regulatory terrain, vaccine slowdowns and cost-structure rationalization.

Adocia SA is looking to further apply its Biochaperone formulation technology to metabolic disorders, Olivier Soula, Adocia co-founder and CEO told BioWorld, the firm having recently gained positive top-line phase III results of Tonghua Dongbao Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s THDB-0206 injection (Biochaperone Lispro) in diabetes patients in China.