Biopharma companies announced $73.38 billion in deals from 240 transactions during the third quarter (Q3) of 2025, bringing the year-to-date total to $212.44 billion, up from $149.87 billion in the same period of 2024. The total marks the highest deal value through Q3 ever recorded by BioWorld.
Samsung Bioepis Co. Ltd. announced Oct. 21 the signing of a license deal to codevelop, manufacture and commercialize two of Phrontline Biopharma Suzhou Co. Ltd.’s novel bispecific dual-payload antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) candidates.
Biopharma dealmaking was up 32% month over month in September, reaching $27.15 billion in total value, up from $20.52 billion in August. It was the fourth-highest month for deals of the year, which through the month average $23.6 billion a month. Year-to-date deal value (January through September) reached $212.44 billion, surpassing the nine-month totals of all previous years.
In a deal that could top $2 billion, China-based Innocare Pharma Ltd. licensed the exclusive worldwide development and commercialization rights to the BTK inhibitor orelabrutinib to Zenas Biopharma Inc. for multiple sclerosis and other indications aside from oncology.
Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. is licensing Hinge Bio Inc.’s multispecific antibody-based therapy HB-2198 in Japan for multiple autoimmune indications, starting with systemic lupus erythematosus.
Nanyang Biologics Pte. Ltd. has entered a $1.5 billion business combination agreement with RF Acquisition Corp II, a Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company. Singapore-based Nanyang Biologics (NYB) is building a hybrid platform to revolutionize drug discovery by combining machine learning with natural compound libraries, and NYB claims it is developing one of the world’s largest AI-curated collections of bioactive compounds.
Sovargen Co. Ltd. inked a $550 million license deal with Angelini Pharma SpA, granting Angelini development and commercialization rights to SVG-105, a novel antisense oligonucleotide drug candidate in preclinical development as a potential treatment for intractable epilepsy.
Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. struck another $1 billion-plus deal, this time for a HER2-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), trastuzumab rezetecan (SHR-A1811), with Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd.’s subsidiary Glenmark Specialty SA.
Novo Nordisk A/S terminated its global licensing deal with Japan’s Heartseed Inc. for its allogeneic induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes.
Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and Health Hope Pharma Ltd. may be getting a second wind for encequidar and the Orascovery platform, with Gilead Sciences Inc. picking up exclusive global rights to develop and commercialize encequidar in the field of virology for $2.5 million up front.