Deals
Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ acquisition of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals is the largest pickup in the company’s history, according to analysts at BMO Capital Markets.
FEATURED STORIES
The total of 52 mergers and acquisitions for the first half of 2026 reflects what analysts, industry watchers and executives are saying over and over: M&A is back.
Dealmaking across biopharma is shifting dramatically as the SEC rolls out new regulations to ease burdens on newly public companies and antitrust review is replaced by drug pricing as the policy concern du jour.
Dual and even triple or quadruple track processes have come roaring back in 2026 thanks to a glut of M&A that has refilled investors’ wallets. Big Pharma is being put on notice that time is critical if they want to acquire.
Subscribe to BioPharm Executive
Market insights and trending stories for biopharma leaders, in your inbox every Wednesday
THE LATEST
Shares of Akcea Therapeutics were up more than 58% in premarket trading after its majority owner Ionis Pharmaceuticals announced it will acquire all outstanding shares of the company, which amounts to about 24% of available stock for $18.50 per share.
Jayson Dallas, president and chief executive officer of Aimmune, said the agreement with Nestlé recognizes the value of Aimmune’s longtime commitment to advancing therapies for food allergies.
The acquisition is expected to bolster ACADIA’s clinical pipeline to include non-opioid pain therapies that have potential non-addictive properties and reduced side effects typically seen with current opioid treatments.
They will operate after the deal as Yumanity Therapeutics, and will focus on protein misfolding and neurodegenerative diseases.
Pharmaceutical industry investors are betting on contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) this year, as they shift their focus from contract research organizations (CRO).
J&J said the acquisition will allow its subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceutical, to broaden its leadership in immune-mediated diseases and drive further growth through expansion into autoantibody-driven disease.
Under terms of the deal, Sanofi will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Principia for $100 per share in cash, which represents an aggregate equity value of approximately $3.68 billion.
Less than one month after GlaxoSmithKline took a 10% stake in CureVac, the Germany-based company raised $213 million in an initial public offering Thursday.
Pfenex’ proprietary protein production platform, Pfenex Expression Technology, is used to improve existing treatments and create novel therapies.
With a $425 million upfront payment, Bayer bolstered its women’s healthcare pipeline with the acquisition of U.K.-based KaNDy Therapeutics and its investigational treatment for menopause.