Mergers & acquisitions
Pfizer called Novo’s offer “reckless and unprecedented,” in a statement issued Thursday morning.
As third-quarter earnings continue to roll out, Novartis makes headlines with the second biggest acquisition of the year; Novartis’ CEO also downplayed the impact of Big Pharma pricing deals with the Trump administration; Regeneron continued the trend of dropping cell therapy assets; BioSpace takes a look at how the FDA is functioning mid-shutdown.
Mergers and acquisitions are not just for Big Pharma. A new report from Leerink Partners takes a stab at identifying the small- to mid-cap pharmas best prepared to bolster their pipelines with a buyout.
Vas Narasimhan confirmed that Novartis is having weekly discussions with the Trump administration on drug pricing, but a deal has not yet been reached.
The takeover of its competitor, announced Sunday, could also bring some attention to Dyne Therapeutics, which has a similar RNA-based pipeline in rare muscle diseases.
The deal, announced early Sunday afternoon, will see Novartis gain access to Avidity’s neuroscience assets, while the San Diego biotech spins out a new company to shepherd its early-stage precision cardiology programs.
The cornerstone of the deal is Ixo-vec, an intravitreal gene therapy currently in Phase III development for wet age-related macular degeneration. Eli Lilly made another foray into genetic medicine in June, picking up Verve Therapeutics for up to $1.3 billion.
Roche has already signed several high-ticket deals this year, including the $3.5 billion acquisition of 89bio and Genentech’s $2.1 billion molecular glue pact with Orionis Biosciences.
With Avadel under its fold, Alkermes expects to accelerate its expansion into the sleep market, laying the foundation for its late-stage narcolepsy asset alixorexton.
The deal focuses on ICT01, a monoclonal antibody being tested in acute myeloid leukemia. ImCheck is also developing assets in infectious disease and other oncology indications.
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