Deal-Making Trends

Belgian mRNA technologies firm Etherna, which is backed by high profile investors including former Bayer CEO Marijn Dekkers and Moderna co-founder Kenneth Chien, has reoriented its business model. Interim CEO Bernard Sagaert tells In Vivo how the firm hopes to deliver superior products for partners in the rapidly expanding RNA space.

Two $1bn+ alliances were penned in February. Topping the list was a potential $1.16bn deal between AstraZeneca and KYM Biosciences (a joint venture company of Keymed Biosciences and Lepu Biopharma, of which Keymed owns 70%). Under the exclusive global agreement, AstraZeneca will develop, manufacture and commercialize CMG901, a Phase I antibody drug conjugate for the treatment of Claudin 18.2-positive solid tumors including gastric cancers.

In Vivo's deal-making column is a survey of recent health care transactions listed by relevant industry segment – In Vitro Diagnostics, Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticals – and then categorized by type – acquisition, alliance, or financing. This month’s column covers deals announced in January 2023. Data provided by Biomedtracker.

A selection of articles you may have missed from February 2023, during which In Vivo focused on the art of dealmaking and its impacts on the life sciences as a whole.

In Vivo's deal-making column is a survey of recent health care transactions listed by relevant industry segment – In Vitro Diagnostics, Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticals – and then categorized by type – acquisition, alliance, or financing. This month’s column covers deals announced in January 2023. Data provided by Biomedtracker.

Eight $1bn+ alliances were penned in January. Topping the list was a potential $4.4bn deal between Neurocrine Biosciences and Voyager Therapeutics to advance multiple gene therapies for the treatment of neurological diseases.

Medtech M&A was at a decade low in 2022 and IPOs was a closed market, says EY life sciences partner John Babitt, who gave his thoughts on likely strategic activity in the year ahead to In Vivo.

For In Vivo's 15th annual Deals of the Year contest, we selected 15 nominees in three categories – Top Alliance, Top Financing and Top M&A. The polls are closed, and it is time to reveal the winners.

India had a busy deals calendar in 2022, with companies led by Biocon striking large M&A deals while PE activity declined. In Vivo's sister publication Scrip pieced together data for infographics on these deals. A multitude of factors is expected to keep the momentum going in 2023.

Agreement of deals that promise better value for money and enhanced patient access to new treatments has become routine in England, but are they delivering?

During Q4, biopharma merger and acquisition value reached $35.7bn and drew in $62.1bn in potential deal value from alliances. Device company M&A values reached $19.2bn, while in vitro diagnostic firms and research tools players completed M&A activity that totaled $4.8bn.

In December 2022, Nimbus Inc. completed one of the largest single-asset deals in the history of biotech, selling their TYK2 inhibitor program NDI-034858 for an up-front payment of $4bn and up to $2bn in additional milestone payments. What was it like to close a deal of that magnitude? What’s next for Nimbus? The company‘s CEO, Jeb Keiper, reflected on these questions in a recent interview with In Vivo.