Three $1bn+ alliances were penned in July. In the top alliance by deal value, Dren Bio teamed up with Novartis for the discovery and development of therapeutic bispecific antibodies for cancer using Dren Bio’s proprietary targeted myeloid engager and phagocytosis platform. The deal could be worth up to $3bn. The companies will collaborate to advance selected targeted myeloid engager programs in oncology through clinical candidate selection, at which point Novartis will assume full responsibility for all remaining development, manufacturing, regulatory and commercialization activities. In the top M&A, Eli Lilly penned a definitive agreement to acquire Morphic Therapeutic for $57 per share or approximately $3.2bn. Morphic's pipeline includes integrin therapies for autoimmune and fibrotic diseases and cancer and is led by Phase IIb candidate MORF-057. The selective oral small molecule inhibitor of α4β7 integrin is being evaluated for ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. It could provide Lilly with a strong competitor to Takeda Pharmaceuticals' marketed IBD therapy Entyvio (vedolizumab). Financing reached $4.6bn in biopharma, $769m in devices, and $373m in diagnostics.
Despite regional unrest, it is business as usual for medtech innovators and investors in Israel as evidenced by continued high-value M&A of locally developed technologies. Irit Yaniv, co-chair of the medtech session at the upcoming BioMed Israel 2025, explained the unique dynamics of Israeli medtech innovation.
After revolutionizing the peptide therapeutic landscape, CEO Dinesh Patel reflects on the journey from surviving the 2008 financial crisis to developing a platform now poised to deliver back-to-back blockbuster approvals.
The whirlwind back-and-forth on US tariffs and Robert F. Kennedy jr.’s plans to deregulate health care have become all-preoccupying, but the National Academy of Medicine was first to set out President Trump’s health administration priorities.
Mikkel Wandahl Pederson, CEO and chief scientific officer at Commit Biologics, discussed the company’s mission to harness the powerful complement system for the treatment of serious diseases.
Phenomix Science presented new data at Digestive Disease Week 2025 showing its machine learning-assisted genetic risk score can predict nausea and side effects from GLP-1 receptor agonists, aiding personalized obesity treatment.