In April, the value of biopharma deals climbed to $15.28 billion, increasing 84% from March’s $8.29 billion and also up from February’s $7.76 billion, though there was a decline from January’s $27.9 billion. This amounts to a monthly average of $14.86 billion in deal value for 2024, compared to the $18.14 billion monthly average in 2023. Meanwhile, the value of biopharma M&As dipped to $1.33 billion for the month, marking the lowest figure in nearly a year.
AC Immune SA has landed a potential $2.2 billion deal for its anti-amyloid beta Alzheimer’s disease vaccine, ACI-24.060, with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., under which it will get $100 million up front and is eligible to receive an option exercise fee, plus potential development, commercial and sales-based milestones of up to $2.1 billion.
As Poseida Therapeutics Inc. anticipates reporting further data this year from allogeneic CAR T-cell therapy P-MUC1C-ALLO1, for which Astellas Pharma Inc. has nabbed first negotiation rights, the two companies inked a second deal aimed at combining their respective cell therapy platforms in an early stage collaboration targeting solid tumors.
South Korea’s HK Inno.N Corp. said on May 2 that it gained exclusive development and commercial rights to Hangzhou, China-based Sciwind Biosciences Co. Ltd.’s once-weekly, injectable glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist, XW-003 (ecnoglutide), in South Korea to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Novartis Pharma AG continues to build up its radiopharmaceutical powerhouse and has expanded a peptide discovery collaboration with Peptidream Inc. in a deal worth up to $2.71 billion. Under the multi-program agreement, Kawasaki, Japan-based Peptidream will use its peptide discovery platform system technology to identify and optimize novel macrocyclic peptides against targets selected by Novartis for potential conjugation to radioligand therapies or other applications for both therapeutic and diagnostic purposes.
Antibody-drug conjugates are the hot spot for deals in Asia, but investors questioned whether oncology is really the place to be, during the Asia Bio Partnering Forum in Singapore April 24 to 25.
Big pharma continues to seek innovation in China despite rising geopolitical tension, speakers said at the Asia Bio Partnering Forum in Singapore April 24.
With a frozen IPO market, investors are tightening their belts and figuring out where to hedge their bets. In Asia, that means having different strategies for different countries while keeping a global mindset, venture capital (VC) investors said during the Asia Bio Partnering Forum in Singapore on April 25.
In a $2.4 billion deal, Deciphera Pharmaceuticals Inc. is merging with Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. Ono is acquiring all of Deciphera’s outstanding stock shares for $25.60 each in cash. The merger helps Osaka, Japan-based Ono strengthen its oncology portfolio and its presence in the U.S.
China’s CAR T market is expected to grow from $72 million in 2022 to $342 million over the next decade. There are currently more than 400 CAR T therapies in the pipeline in China, and most of these are being developed by specialized Chinese biotechs. Research by Clarivate plc, BioWorld’s parent company, indicates that a notable proportion of CAR T-cell therapies in late-phase development in China are being developed through strategic partnerships and joint ventures between multinational corporations and domestic companies, including Johnson & Johnson and Nanjing Legend Biotech Corp., Juno Therapeutics Inc. and Wuxi Apptec Co. Ltd., and CASI Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Juventas Cell Therapy Ltd.
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