Overview and Highlights 

January’s healthcare activity was defined by targeted strategic acquisitions, a resurgence in high-value licensing for next-generation modalities, and the reopening of the IPO window. While broader life sciences dealmaking saw large medtech and general pharma moves, the targeted therapeutics and healthcare sector focused on "de-risked innovation" in oncology and cell therapy.

AstraZeneca’s acquisition of Modella AI and Amgen’s deal for Dark Blue Therapeutics highlight the dual focus on AI-driven diagnostics and targeted protein degradation. In the public markets, Aktis Oncology broke the biotech IPO drought with a $318M debut, signaling investor appetite for differentiated radiopharmaceuticals. Meanwhile, strategic partnerships surged, with major players like AbbVie, Pfizer, and Roche committing over $7 billion in potential value to secure assets in ADCs and tumor-selective antigen discovery.

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Mergers & Acquisitions

1 | AstraZeneca Acquires Modella AI to Bolster Diagnostic Workflows | Digital Health

AstraZeneca acquired Modella AI, a developer of advanced artificial intelligence tools designed to revolutionize diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic workflows. The acquisition, completed on January 13, underscores the growing importance of AI-native capabilities in precision medicine, particularly for patient stratification and early detection. The deal aligns with AstraZeneca’s strategy to integrate digital health solutions that accelerate clinical decision-making.

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2 | Amgen Acquires UK Biotech Dark Blue Therapeutics for up to $840M | Biotech

Amgen agreed to acquire U.K.-based Dark Blue Therapeutics in a deal valued at up to $840 million, adding the biotech’s preclinical blood cancer program to its oncology pipeline. The asset centers on a small molecule designed to degrade MLLT1/3 proteins implicated in acute leukemias (e.g., AML, ALL). Preclinical data suggests activity that could complement Amgen’s existing cancer research efforts. Amgen plans to integrate Dark Blue into its early discovery organization to advance the program toward clinical investigation.

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Strategic Partnerships and Licensing

1 | AbbVie Licenses RemeGen’s Bispecific Antibody in $5.6B Deal | Biotech

AbbVie entered into an exclusive global licensing agreement with RemeGen to develop and commercialize RC148, a novel bispecific antibody targeting PD-1 and VEGF for solid tumors. The deal, worth up to $5.6 billion in total value, reflects big pharma's continued aggressive pursuit of next-generation immuno-oncology assets that offer dual mechanisms of action to overcome resistance in difficult-to-treat cancers.

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2 | Pfizer Partners with Cartography Biosciences to Discover Tumor Targets in $865M Deal | Biotech

Pfizer and Cartography Biosciences announced a strategic collaboration to discover novel tumor-selective antigens for potential therapeutic targeting. The partnership, valued at up to $865 million, leverages Cartography’s single-cell sequencing and computational platform to identify precise targets that distinguish cancer cells from healthy tissue, aiming to enable safer and more effective targeted therapies such as ADCs and T-cell engagers.

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3 | Amgen Licenses Disco Pharmaceuticals’ Surfaceome Targets for $618M | Biotech

Amgen entered an exclusive licensing agreement with Disco Pharmaceuticals to advance novel therapeutic candidates addressing a cancer target mapped by Disco’s surfaceome platform. The deal, potentially worth $618 million, focuses on "unlocking" new cell surface targets for small cell lung cancer and other solid tumors, further expanding Amgen’s precision oncology pipeline.

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4 | Roche Expands ADC Footprint with $570M MediLink Deal | Biotech

Roche announced a collaboration and licensing agreement with MediLink Therapeutics for YL201, an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting B7-H3. The deal, valued at approximately $570 million, grants Roche access to a differentiated asset with potential application across numerous solid tumor types, reinforcing the industry-wide trend of consolidation in the ADC space.

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Public Markets & IPOs

1 | Aktis Oncology Raises $318M in First Biotech IPO of 2026 | Biotech

Radiopharmaceutical developer Aktis Oncology priced an upsized initial public offering of $318 million, marking the first significant biotech IPO of 2026. Backed by Eli Lilly (which purchased $100M of shares), Aktis is developing "miniprotein radioconjugates" targeting Nectin-4 and B7-H3. The successful debut signals renewed public market interest in companies with differentiated platforms and clear clinical milestones in precision oncology.

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2 | Monte Rosa Therapeutics Prices $300M Public Offering | Biotech

Monte Rosa Therapeutics, a leader in molecular glue degraders (MGDs), priced a $300 million public offering to fund the continued development of its pipeline. The financing underscores the strong public market appetite for targeted protein degradation technologies that can address "undruggable" disease-causing proteins.

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Venture Capital

1 | Orca Bio Secures $250M for Commercial Preparations | Biotech

Late-stage biotech Orca Bio secured $250 million in aggregate financing, including a Series F led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and an expanded credit facility with Silicon Valley Bank. The capital will fund commercial readiness for its lead allogeneic T-cell immunotherapy, Orca-T, which is under priority review by the FDA with a PDUFA date of April 6, 2026. Proceeds will also support the construction of new manufacturing capacity on the U.S. East Coast to complement existing California operations, ensuring scalable supply for the potential launch.

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2 | Cellares Raises $257M Series D for Automated Cell Therapy Manufacturing | CDMO

Cellares closed a $257 million Series D financing co-led by BlackRock and Eclipse, bringing total funding to approximately $612 million. The round included new backers T. Rowe Price, Baillie Gifford, and Gates Frontier. The company will use the funds to deploy its "Cell Shuttle" automated manufacturing platform globally, with new IDMO (Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization) "Smart Factories" planned for South San Francisco, Bridgewater (NJ), Leiden (Netherlands), and Kashiwa City (Japan). Cellares aims to resolve the industry's critical bottleneck by delivering industrial-scale, fully automated manufacturing for personalized cell therapies by 2027.

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3 | Rakuten Medical Raises $100M for Light-Activated Cancer Therapy | Biotech

Rakuten Medical completed a $100 million Series F financing led by the TaiAx Life Science Fund, with participation from major Japanese financial institutions including Daiwa Securities and Mitsui Sumitomo. The oversubscribed round will fund the ongoing global Phase 3 trial (ASP-1929-381) of its Alluminox platform in recurrent head and neck cancer. The company is targeting a U.S. Biologics License Application (BLA) submission by 2028 for its precision photoimmunotherapy, which combines a drug conjugate with a proprietary medical device to induce rapid, targeted tumor necrosis.

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4 | Soley Therapeutics Secures $200M Series C | Biotech

Soley Therapeutics raised $200 million in a Series C financing with Surveyor Capital as the primary investor, alongside new backers HRTG Partners and RWN Management. The funding will advance Soley’s lead asset for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) into clinical trials in 2026 and move a second solid tumor candidate into IND-enabling studies. The company leverages a "cells-as-sensors" platform that combines high-content imaging with computer vision and AI to identify novel cell stress responses, a unique approach to discovering first-in-class medicines for oncology and neurodegeneration.

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5 | Converge Bio Raises $25M Series A for Generative AI | Digital Health

Converge Bio raised $25 million in a Series A led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from TLV Partners and executives from OpenAI and Meta. The company is building a "generative AI lab" for the life sciences, training Large Language Models (LLMs) specifically on biological data (DNA, RNA, proteins) rather than text. The platform is already being used to design antibodies with higher affinity and optimize protein yields, positioning Converge as a critical infrastructure layer for AI-driven drug discovery.

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6 | Parabilis Medicines Secures $305M Series F | Biotech

Parabilis Medicines (formerly FogPharma) closed an oversubscribed $305 million Series F financing led by RA Capital Management, Fidelity, and Janus Henderson Investors. The capital is dedicated to pivotal clinical trials for FOG-001 (zolucatetide), a first-in-class intracellular beta-catenin inhibitor for desmoid tumors. The funding also supports the expansion of the company’s proprietary Helicon peptide platform, which is designed to drug intracellular targets previously considered undruggable, with new programs advancing in colorectal and other cancers.

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7 | EpiBiologics Raises $107M Series B | Biotech

EpiBiologics completed a $107 million Series B financing co-led by GV (Google Ventures) and Johnson & Johnson Innovation (JJDC), with new participation from Novartis Venture Fund and Samsara BioCapital. The proceeds will fund the first-in-human clinical trials for EPI-326, a tissue-selective bispecific antibody designed to degrade EGFR in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The company’s EpiTAC platform focuses on degrading extracellular and membrane proteins, a complementary approach to intracellular degraders (PROTACs).

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