Overview and Highlights
July was a blockbuster month for biopharma dealmaking, defined by a surge of multi-billion-dollar M&A transactions that reshaped key market segments. The month was headlined by Waters Corporation's monumental $17.5 billion acquisition of BD's biosciences and diagnostics units, a deal that signals a major consolidation in the lab tools sector. This was complemented by Merck's decisive $10 billion move for Verona, securing a potential blockbuster respiratory asset and underscoring big pharma's aggressive pursuit of de-risked, high-value pipelines.
The strategic imperative to acquire late-stage and next-generation assets was a clear theme, with AbbVie, Sanofi, and Alexion executing significant deals to bolster their portfolios in oncology, vaccines, and gene therapy, respectively. Beyond M&A, the private markets demonstrated robust health. Major venture and private equity players, including Omega Funds, Catalio Capital, and Bain Capital, closed substantial new funds or made significant investments, ensuring a deep well of capital remains available for both emerging and established companies. This combination of strategic, large-scale acquisitions and strong private investment indicates a vibrant and highly active market heading into the second half of the year.
Mergers & Acquisitions
- I-Mab to Acquire Bridge Health for CLDN18.2 Bispecific in $18M Upfront Deal | Biotech
- USWM CT, a subsidiary of US WorldMeds Partners Agrees to Pay $55M in Cash for Adaptimmune’s Tecelra | Pharma
Private Equity
Venture Capital & Financing
Mergers & Acquisitions
In one of the largest lab-tool transactions in recent history, Waters Corporation has agreed to acquire the biosciences and diagnostics divisions of Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) for $17.5 billion. The deal represents a major strategic consolidation, bringing BD's powerful flow cytometry, single-cell genomics, and diagnostic platforms under the Waters umbrella. The move is set to create a powerhouse in the life sciences tools and diagnostics market, combining complementary technologies to serve a broad range of research and clinical customers.
Merck has announced its acquisition of Verona Pharma for approximately $10 billion, a strategic move to secure the company’s potential blockbuster COPD drug, Ohtuvayre (ensifentrine). This acquisition significantly strengthens Merck's respiratory and immunology pipeline with a first-in-class, late-stage asset that has a novel mechanism of action. The deal reflects a broader industry trend of large pharmaceutical companies paying a premium to acquire de-risked assets with high commercial potential.
Sanofi continues to build out its vaccine capabilities with the planned acquisition of Vicebio for $1.6 billion. The deal gives Sanofi access to Vicebio's innovative vaccine platform and pipeline, further solidifying its position as a global leader in vaccine development. This strategic acquisition is aimed at capturing next-generation technologies to address future public health challenges.
In a major move within the Indian pharmaceutical market, Torrent Pharma has acquired a controlling stake in JB Pharma from private equity firm KKR for $1.4 billion. The transaction underscores the increasing consolidation and competition in one of the world's fastest-growing pharma markets, with Torrent significantly expanding its domestic footprint and product portfolio through the deal.
AstraZeneca’s rare disease unit, Alexion, has committed up to $825 million to acquire a next-generation AAV capsid platform, JUST-AAV, from JCR Pharmaceuticals. This deal is designed to enhance the safety and efficacy of its gene therapy programs by leveraging advanced vector technology. The acquisition provides Alexion with critical tools to overcome existing challenges in gene therapy delivery, reinforcing its long-term commitment to the field.
AbbVie has made a significant upfront payment of $700 million for exclusive licensing for IGI Therapeutics’ lead investigational asset, ISB 2001, a novel trispecific antibody for hematological malignancies. The move positions AbbVie to compete directly with established players like Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer in the highly competitive blood cancer space, highlighting the high value placed on next-generation, multi-specific oncology assets.
In a deal that bridges the gap between drug development and manufacturing, contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Future Pak has agreed to acquire HIV-focused drugmaker Theratechnologies for $254 million. The acquisition provides Theratechnologies with the resources and manufacturing expertise to support its commercial products and pipeline, reflecting a novel vertical integration strategy.
Sanofi has taken an option to license a masked CD28 bispecific antibody from Adagene and made a concurrent $25 million equity investment in the company. The deal leverages Adagene's "SAFEbody" technology, which is designed to activate therapies only within the tumor microenvironment, potentially increasing efficacy while minimizing side effects for this promising class of cancer immunotherapies.
I-Mab is acquiring Bridge Health in a deal with an $18 million upfront payment to secure a promising bispecific antibody targeting Claudin18.2 (CLDN18.2). This acquisition strengthens I-Mab's strategic pivot toward the highly validated oncology target and expands its pipeline of next-generation cancer therapies.
Amidst exploring different strategic avenues to improve the financial standing of the company, Adaptiumme has decided to offload its cell therapy assets to global pharma. USWM CT has agreed to pay $55 million in cash for Adpatimmune’s leading solid tumor asset, the first engineered cell therapy for a solid tumor to gain FDA approval and 3 remaining assets.
Private Equity
Bristol Myers Squibb and Bain Capital have partnered to create “New Co”, an independent pharmaceutical company focused on autoimmune diseases to address areas of unmet need. With $300 million in dedicated financing committed by Bain Capital, New Co will launch with 5 immunology assets in-licensed from BMS with afimetoran as one of the leading assets against systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
PCI Pharma Services, a leading global CDMO, has secured a major strategic investment from a consortium of top-tier private equity firms, including Bain Capital, Kohlberg & Company, and Mubadala Investment Company. While the financial terms were not disclosed, the investment is set to accelerate PCI's global expansion and enhance its capabilities in providing integrated supply chain solutions for pharmaceutical and biotech clients.
Venture Capital & Financing
Venture capital firm Omega Funds has successfully closed its eighth fund, raising $647 million to invest in innovative life sciences companies. The fund will focus on backing biotechs with transformative therapeutic platforms and products, continuing Omega's strategy of supporting companies from early stages through commercialization.
Catalio Capital Management has closed a new fund with $400 million in capital commitments. The firm plans to take advantage of what it calls a "historic buyer's market" by investing in both private and public biotechnology companies that are currently undervalued. The fund will target breakthrough science and technologies across the biomedical ecosystem.
Biotech venture capital firm Axil Capital has raised over $200 million for a new fund specifically focused on identifying and investing in untapped innovation from Japan. The fund aims to bridge the gap between promising Japanese science and the global market, providing capital and expertise to help build new life sciences companies.
Radiopharmaceutical biotech Nuclidium has closed a $99 million Series B financing. The capital will be used to advance the company's lead program, a copper-based theranostic pair that combines a diagnostic imaging agent and a therapeutic agent for cancer treatment. The funding will enable clinical testing of this innovative "seek and destroy" approach.
CNS biotech MapLight has closed a $372.5 million Series D financing led by Forbion, Goldman Sachs Alternatives’ life sciences team, Sanofi, Novo Holdings, and others. The funding will support development of the company’s lead program, ML-007C-MA, a dual M1/M4 muscarinic agonist being evaluated for schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease psychosis and the broader CNS portfolio. This round follows a successful $225 million Series C.
Frazier Life Sciences, a Palo-Alto based firm, has raised $1.3 billion in capital commitments for its 12th venture fund. Frazier has now totalled $3.6 billion across 5 dedicated venture funds since 2016. The most recent fund, Frazier Life Science XI, closed in 2022 at $987 million. The funds will be dedicated to the creation of life science companies and private, early-stage pharma companies focused on advanced therapeutic programs.
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