Deals in Depth: December 2023

22 Jan 2024

• By Deanna Kamienski and Maureen Riordan

Six $1bn+ alliances were penned in December. In the top alliance by deal value, Biokin and its SystImmune subsidiary licensed Bristol Myers Squibb exclusive rights to develop and commercialize its cancer candidate BL-B01D1 worldwide, excluding Mainland China where SystImmune retains rights. BMS will pay $800m up front, up to $500m in contingent near-term payments, and up to $7.1bn in development, regulatory, and sales milestones, for a total potential consideration of up to $8.4bn.

In the top M&A, Bristol Myers Squibb entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Karuna Therapeutics for $330.00 per share (a 54% premium to Karuna's 10-day pre-announcement market average) in cash, for a total equity value of $14bn. Karuna is focused on discovering, developing and delivering medicines for people living with psychiatric and neurological conditions. Its lead asset, KarXT (xanomeline-trospium), is an antipsychotic with a novel mechanism of action and differentiated efficacy and safety. Karuna’s NDA for KarXT for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults was accepted for review by the FDA with a PDUFA date of September 26, 2024. Financing reached $4.5bn in biopharma, $245m in device, and $218m in diagnostics.

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