KalVista Pharmaceuticals brings to Chiesi Group the product Ekterly, the first FDA-approved oral drug for acute treatment of swelling attacks from the rare disease hereditary angioedema. Ekterly’s tablet formulation offers a dosing edge compared to injectable HAE medications.

The post Chiesi Group Grows Again in Rare Disease With $1.9B KalVista Acquisition appeared first on MedCity News.

Tortugas Neurosciences’ two lead programs are in-licensed oral small molecules in development for schizophrenia and tinnitus. The startup is led by veterans of Sage Therapeutics, a neuroscience biotech that was acquired last year.

The post Neuro Startup Tortugas Unveils $106M and a Pipeline of Drugs for the Brain appeared first on MedCity News.

Kelonia Therapeutics brings to Eli Lilly an in vivo cell therapy in early clinical development for multiple myeloma. The deal complements Lilly’s acquisitions of Verve Therapeutics and Orna Therapeutics in the past year, each taking different approaches to developing in vivo genetic medicines.

The post Eli Lilly Makes Another In Vivo Genetic Medicines Move With $3.2B Kelonia Acquisition appeared first on MedCity News.

Obsidian Therapeutics aims to show its TIL cell therapy has advantages over an Iovance Biotherapeutics TIL therapy marketed for treating melanoma. Obsidian’s merger with Galera Therapeutics will give it a public listing and a private placement to support clinical development of the combined company’s cancer drug pipeline.

The post Obsidian, Galera Merger Comes With $350M Infusion for Cancer Drug Trials appeared first on MedCity News.

Eli Lilly is paying up to $300 million for CrossBridge Bio, a startup developing antibody drug conjugates that deliver two drug payloads to cancers. Beyond potentially better efficacy, CrossBio’s dual approach could also fight drug resistance.

The post Eli Lilly Buys Startup CrossBridge Bio to Bring a More Powerful Strike to Tumors appeared first on MedCity News.

Sidewinder Therapeutics and Stipple Bio each raised mega-rounds of financing to support their approaches to improving the targeting abilities of antibody drug conjugates for cancer. Both startups are on track to enter the clinic next year.

The post Two New Takes on Making a Type of Targeted Cancer Therapy Even Better appeared first on MedCity News.

Gilead Sciences exercised its option to license a Kymera Therapeutics’ protein-degrading drug designed to eliminate the cancer-driving protein CDK2. Meanwhile, Roche’s new partnership with C4 Therapeutics is focused on developing degrader antibody drug conjugates for undisclosed cancer targets.

The post Gilead and Roche Bet on Protein Degraders for Their Cancer Drug Pipelines appeared first on MedCity News.

Gilead Sciences’ Tubulis acquisition brings antibody drug conjugates in clinical development for cancer. Analysts say the Tubulis platform technologies that yielded these ADCs could also help Gilead develop drugs in other therapeutic areas.

The post Gilead’s Pipeline Strategy Takes Shape With $3B Acquisition of Cancer Biotech Tubulis appeared first on MedCity News.

Biogen’s Apellis Pharmaceuticals acquisition comes nearly two years after the drugmaker purchased immunology startup Human Immunology Biosciences. CEO Chris Viehbacher said Apellis accelerates Biogen’s expansion in nephrology, supporting a HI-Bio drug currently in pivotal testing for three kidney conditions.

The post Why Biogen Is Paying $5.6B to Buy Apellis Pharma appeared first on MedCity News.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals’ cleminorexton is part of the orexin agonist drug class, which could introduce a new approach to the treatment of narcolepsy and other sleep disorders. Acquiring Centessa brings Eli Lilly into a group of clinical-stage orexin agonist drug developers that includes Takeda Pharmaceutical, Alkermes, and Eisai.

The post Eli Lilly’s Neuro Prospects Expand to Sleep Science With $6.3B Centessa Acquisition appeared first on MedCity News.

Gilead Sciences is acquiring Ouro Medicines, a startup developing T cell engagers for a range of autoimmune diseases. Separately, Gilead is negotiating a deal with Galapagos to share in the development and potential commercialization of the Ouro drug.

The post Gilead Sciences Gains an Opportunity for Immune System Reset With $1.7B Ouro Acquisition appeared first on MedCity News.

Novartis already markets the PI3Kα inhibitor Piqray for breast cancer, but acquiring a Synnovation Therapeutics subsidiary brings an early clinical program that the pharma company claims could be best in the class of next-generation therapies for the target. Competitors include Eli Lilly, Relay Therapeutics, and OnKure Therapeutics.

The post Why Novartis Is Paying $2B for a Cancer Drug That Hits the Same Target as One of Its Own Products appeared first on MedCity News.

Waiv, formerly the diagnostics division of AI biotech Owkin, developed AI-enabled testing technologies that found use in clinical settings and in cancer drug research. Spinning out as an independent company enables Waiv to pursue its own growth strategy, co-founder and CEO Meriem Sefta said.

The post Startup Waiv Spins Out of Owkin With $33M to Bring AI Precision to Cancer Decisions appeared first on MedCity News.

Day One Biopharmaceuticals is Servier’s biggest acquisition yet, topping the $2.4 billion it paid to buy Shire’s cancer business in 2018. Day One markets Ojemda, approved for treating pediatric low-grade glioma, the most common type of brain cancer in children.

The post Servier Boosts Presence in Rare Cancers With $2.5B Acquisition of Day One Biopharma appeared first on MedCity News.

Boehringer Ingelheim receives rights to oral small molecules from Sitryx with potential applications in multiple autoimmune disorders. Depending on the progress of Boehringer’s research, Sitryx could receive more than $500 million.

The post Boehringer Boosts Pipeline, Adding Oral Small Molecules With Broad Immunology & Inflammation Potential appeared first on MedCity News.

Slate Medicines’ antibody drug is designed to block PACAP, a protein associated with migraines. The Phase 1-ready asset was licensed from China-based DartsBio Pharmaceuticals.

The post Headache Startup Slate Medicines Lands $130M to Bring Novel Migraine Drug Into the Clinic appeared first on MedCity News.

Korsana Biosciences’ preclinical Alzheimer’s disease drug comes from a platform technology that enables antibodies to cross the blood-brain barrier. Roche and AbbVie have clinical-stage drugs taking a similar approach to Alzheimer’s.

The post Startup Korsana Bio Reveals $175M Raised for a Better Brain-Penetrating Alzheimer’s Drug appeared first on MedCity News.

Orna Therapeutics brings Eli Lilly an in vivo cell therapy ready for Phase 1 testing as a potential treatment for autoimmune diseases. Lilly is now the latest pharma company to use M&A to enter this growing field, following deals made in the past year by AstraZeneca, AbbVie, Gilead Sciences, and Bristol Myers Squibb.

The post Eli Lilly Expands Its In Vivo Ambitions, Acquiring Cell Therapy Startup Orna for up to $2.4B appeared first on MedCity News.

Across all industries, the total number of companies on track to go public could make this week the most active for IPOs since 2021. Despite the partial government shutdown, there are paths biotechs can pursue to the public markets.

The post The 4 Biotech Companies on Track to IPO this Week Despite the Government Shutdown appeared first on MedCity News.

AstraZeneca’s deal with CSPC Pharmaceutical Group includes a Phase 1-ready obesity drug that hits the same targets as Eli Lilly’s obesity drug Zepbound, but with monthly dosing. The new collaboration builds on an existing drug R&D relationship between the two companies.

The post AstraZeneca Beefs Up in Metabolic Disease, Paying $1.2B to Partner on CSPC Obesity & Diabetes Meds appeared first on MedCity News.

Fortitude Biomedicines is developing antibody drug conjugates that use targeted protein degraders as their therapeutic payloads. The startup joins a group of degrader ADC (or DAC) developers that includes Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer.

The post Startup Fortitude Bio Launches to Beat Drug Resistance in Cancer, Expand ADCs to Autoimmune Disease appeared first on MedCity News.

The contract research organization consolidation trend continues with Worldwide Clinical Trials striking a deal for Catalyst Clinical Research, which has particular expertise in oncology. Worldwide is a portfolio company of Kohlberg, a private equity firm.

The post Worldwide Clinical Trials to Buy Catalyst, Another M&A Deal Between Private Equity-Backed CROs appeared first on MedCity News.

Bristol Myers Squibb is paying $50 million to begin a collaboration with Janux Therapeutics, a company that develops T cell engagers that activate specifically at the site of the tumor. It’s the second big pharma alliance for Janux, which has been working with Merck.

The post BMS Tries Again With T Cell Engagers, Turning to Janux to Develop New Tumor-Activated Therapy appeared first on MedCity News.

Pfizer’s stake in ViiV Healthcare will be taken over by Shiongi, another minority shareholder in the HIV medicines company. GSK remains remain the majority shareholder in ViiV, which the pharmaceutical giant formed in partnership with Pfizer in 2009.

The post Pfizer Pockets $1.9B by Offloading Stake in HIV Drugs Company Majority Owned by GSK appeared first on MedCity News.

Rapt Therapeutics brings to GSK ozureprubart, a long-acting antibody that inhibits the validated immunology target immunoglobulin E (IgE). If GSK is able to bring this drug to the market, it would complete with the blockbuster Genentech and Novartis allergy drug Xolair.

The post GSK Grows in Immunology, Buying Rapt Therapeutics and Food Allergy Drug in $2.2B Deal appeared first on MedCity News.

AbbVie is now part of a growing group of companies that have turned to China to get a bispecific antibody designed to target PD-1 and VEGF to fight cancer. AbbVie may have more to say about the deal in its presentation this week during the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco.

The post AbbVie Puts Up $650M to Join Emerging But Crowded Area of Cancer Drug R&D appeared first on MedCity News.

Obesity and diabetes drug R&D partnerships struck in 2025 represented $20.2 billion in total deal value, a new record high, according to a new report from J.P. Morgan. While IPO activity and venture investment trended downward, M&A activity was significantly higher.

The post J.P. Morgan Report: Obesity & Diabetes Dealmaking Set a New Record in 2025 appeared first on MedCity News.

Dynavax Technologies brings Sanofi a commercialized hepatitis B vaccine and a clinical-stage shingles vaccine, both of which offer differentiation from products marketed by GSK. It’s Sanofi’s second billion-dollar vaccines acquisition of 2025.

The post Sanofi’s Vaccine Lineup Gets a Shot in the Arm With $2.2B Dynavax Acquisition appeared first on MedCity News.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical’s acquisition of Amicus Therapeutics is a marriage of two rare disease biotech companies. Amicus’s two commercialized products, for the enzyme deficiencies Fabry disease and Pompe disease, are each projected to become blockbuster sellers.

The post BioMarin’s Presence in Rare Enzyme Disorders Grows With $4.8B Amicus Therapeutics Acquisition appeared first on MedCity News.

Arthrosi Therapeutics’ pozdeutinurad is in Phase 3 testing as a treatment for uncontrolled gout. Sobi says this once-daily capsule complements its own asset, an infused biologic medicine currently under FDA review as a third-line gout treatment.

The post Sobi Grows Its Gout Drug Prospects With $950M Acquisition of Startup Arthrosi Therapeutics appeared first on MedCity News.