Chinese biotechs Biotheus Inc. and Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. partnered again under a new potential ¥5 billion (US$698.98 million) deal to develop bispecific antibody-drug conjugates (BsADCs), using Biotheus’ EGFR-cMet bispecific antibody.

In February, deals formed by biopharma firms reached $7.76 billion, down from January, which marked the sixth-highest month in BioWorld’s records going back to 2016. Meanwhile, biopharma M&As amounted to $18.22 billion for the month, positioning it among the top 10 highest-value months in the past four years.

Astrazeneca plc is acquiring rare diseases specialist Amolyt Pharma SA in a $1.05 billion deal, taking ownership of eneboparatide (AZP-3601), which is in phase III development for the treatment of hypoparathyroidism. Of the total, $800 million will be paid up front, with the balance of $250 million contingent upon achievement of a regulatory milestone.

Nine-year-old IFM Therapeutics LLC has notched yet another big deal as Novartis AG will acquire all the outstanding capital stock of IFM Due Inc., a subsidiary of privately held IFM in an agreement that began five years ago. The newest deal brings IFM $90 million up front and makes it eligible for up to $745 million in milestone payments for a deal value of $835 million.

Technology of genomically recoded organisms borne out of Yale and Stanford university laboratories and housed at Khosla Ventures-backed Pearl Bio received validation on March 12 through a $1 billion deal signed with Merck & Co. Inc. Cambridge, Mass.-based Pearl, which emerged from stealth last year, is eligible for the funds through up-front, option and milestone payments, plus potential royalties on sales of deal-related products that gain approval. The synthetic biology company aims to create a new class of multi-functionalized therapeutics with tunable properties. The deal with Rahway, N.J.-based Merck will focus on new cancer biologics.

Sosei Group Corp. is getting €25 million (US$27.3 million) up front in a global collaboration and option-to-license deal with Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH aimed at developing GPR52 agonists, a new target for schizophrenia designed to potentially address positive, negative and cognitive symptoms at the same time.

Yuhan Corp., of Seoul, South Korea, added a new potential cancer drug to its oncology pipeline, licensing a son of sevenless homolog 1 (SOS1) inhibitor co-developed by Cyrus Therapeutics Inc. and Kanaph Therapeutics Inc. for ₩208 billion (US$156.3 million).

Merus NV added Gilead Sciences Inc. to its collaboration roster, entering a deal potentially worth more than $1.5 billion. While its previous agreements have focused primarily on bispecific antibodies, the Gilead alliance takes aim at trispecifics, antibodies capable of binding three targets at once. In other news, shares of Biomx Inc. (NYSE:PHGE) jumped 194% March 6, ending the day at 68 cents, up 45 cents, on news that it was merging with fellow phage-focused company Adaptive Phage Therapeutics Inc. and raised $50 million in a concurrent private placement.