SAGE Therapeutics, Inc.

iStock, Svetlana Ivanova Big Pharmas like Eli Lilly, Sanofi and Novartis headed back to the dealmakers table multiple times, with 32 total deals counted across the industry for the first half. In the closing days of the half, pharma suddenly got its dealmaking groove back. Six deals were announced in June, from BioNTech’s $1.25 billion buy of mRNA rival CureVac to Eli Lilly’s validation of the gene editing space via the $1.3 billion acquisition of Verve Therapeutics . The sudden frenzy made for a splashy start to the summer and had analysts encouraged that the M&A dam had officially broken. The deal flow in the first half was overall “relatively steady but cautious,” PwC said in the firm’s mid-year outlook , published June 18. There were about 32 deals in the biopsharma space recorded for the first half, according to data from S&P Capital IQ and analyzed by BioSpace. Companies in the market for M&A battled significant headwinds in the first half, mainly from polical and regulatory drama. Upheaval at the FDA and related concerns about drug approval delays , the return of Most Favored Nation drug pricing and other factors “weighed on dealmakers’ confidence,” according to PwC. “These shifts have further complicated revenue forecasting and valuation modeling, leading many companies to more carefully reevaluate pipeline decisions and strategic objectives before signing new deals,” the firm wrote. There were also, of course, the on again, off again tariff threats from the president. Import taxes specific to the pharma industry still have not been levied despite numerous threats and the promise of policy to come. Companies announced multibillion-dollar commitments to onshoring U.S. manufacturing while continuing to tap innovation from China, where more than one-third of molecules have been licensed by U.S. pharmas. All of these policy challenges were evident in the proxy filing for the Verve-Lilly deal, released last week. Verve said that the departure of Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Director Peter Marks was a distinct moment in the negotiations with Lilly, as were the tariffs and drug pricing proposals. In the first half of 2025, companies kept to deals in the range of $1 billion to $5 billion, with a notable exception: Johnson & Johnson started off the year with the $14.7 billion acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapies . The policy uncertainty has led pharmas to hold off on larger dealmaking, which “weakens the M&A life-raft that proved so vital to a suffering biotech industry in 2023 and 2024,” Evaluate wrote in its 2025 World Preview report . The analysis firm believes that higher-value deals will return, however. PwC agrees that future deal prospects are robust thanks to scientific progress, the number of anticipated new drug approvals and the amount of cash that potential buyers have on the balance sheet. “But dealmakers face a multifaceted regulatory and geopolitical set of challenges which require pharmaceutical and life sciences companies to demonstrate significant agility, comprehensive due diligence and strategic foresight in managing their dealmaking activities and overall corporate strategies,” the firm wrote. Keeping the deals smaller, a few Big Pharmas like Lilly, Sanofi and Novartis have headed back to the dealmakers table multiple times already this year. Lilly led with three transactions, followed by Novartis and Sanofi each with two. BioSpace , Annalee Armstrong But these major companies weren’t the most prolific. That honor goes to biotech grim reaper Concentra Biosciences, the Tang Capital holding company that buys out struggling companies to close them down. Kevin Tang’s company bought four companies: Acelyrin, Kronos, Elevation Oncology and Allakos, spending $463.1 million total, according to S&P Capital IQ. As for therapeutic trends, oncology came out the clear winner so far this year, with eight deals being struck in this area, according to Truist Securities. Last year, deals had been more spread out across therapeutics areas. Tumultuous Stories End A defining feature of dealmaking in the first half was the close of a number of tumultuous stories. The BioNTech-CureVac deal saw two German rivals that had long battled for supremacy of the mRNA field come together. BioNTech very obviously took the market lead and, in turn, became a household name, thanks to its Pfizer-partnered COVID-19 vaccine. Meanwhile, CureVac still does not have a marketed product. The companies battled each other in the courts over mRNA patents and that litigation is set to sunset with the deal . The buyout of Sage Therapeutics marked the end of an era for another troubled company that had been searching for a life line. The company agreed to be acquired by Supernus Pharmaceuticals for up to $795 million, which analysts called a “good end” to the biotech’s story. Sage had balked at an unsolicited offer from partner Biogen earlier this year. Biogen offered about $470 million and never returned with a revised proposal. Another notable acquisition was the private equity buy out of bluebird bio , the once darling of the gene therapy industry now valued at just under $50 million. The biotech had been struggling to break even but failed to extend its cash runway. With time running out, bluebird agreed to be taken private by Carlyle and SK Capital.

据创鉴汇不完全统计，6月16日至6月22日全球生物制药领域共披露27起交易事件，潜在交易总额超34亿美元，涉及抗体偶联药物（ADC）、基因编辑、核药、小分子药物等核心领域。上周交易多数为未披露金额的研发合作，但包含4起超亿美元的大额并购、授权合作事件。其中，礼来以约13亿美元收购Verve Therapeutics，双方早在2023年6月就已经针对心血管疾病合作研发基因编辑药物。本次收购将继续强化礼来在该领域的战略布局。另一大额并购事件是Supernus Pharmaceuticals以7.95亿美元收购Sage Therapeutics，前者获得治疗产后抑郁症的口服药Zuranolone。ADC领域共有3起相关交易。其中，先声再明以潜在总额7.45亿美元授权NextCure靶向CDH6的药物SIM0505除大中华区以外的全球权利，以及专有的ADC连接子和TOPO异构酶1抑制剂有效载荷技术，用于研发临床前ADC药物。此外，诗健生物与西班牙SunRock Biopharma达成合作协议，共同开发靶向CCR9的ADC。最后一笔大额交易聚焦小分子药物领域。Processa Pharmaceuticals就胃肠动力障碍药物PCS12852与Intact Therapeutics达成授权协议，潜在总额4.55亿美元。该药物是一款高选择性5-HT4受体激动剂，已完成2a期试验。通过本次交易，Processa在兑现非肿瘤管线价值的同时，集中资源开发下一代癌症疗法；对Intact而言，将扩充胃肠疾病产品管线，加速解决未满足的临床需求。读者们请星标⭐创鉴汇，第一时间收到推送免责声明：本文仅作信息交流之目的，文中观点不代表药明康德立场，亦不代表药明康德支持或反对文中观点。本文也不是治疗方案推荐。如需获得治疗方案指导，请前往正规医院就诊。版权说明：欢迎个人转发至朋友圈，谢绝媒体或机构未经授权以任何形式转发/复制至其他平台。转发授权请在「创鉴汇」微信公众号留言联系我们。更多数据内容推荐点击“在看”，分享创鉴汇健康新动态

Psychiatric medicine remains one of the more challenging and risky areas of drug research. Many prospects show initial promise only to fail later on. Still, recent breakthroughs are spurring more investments and acquisitions in biotechnology companies working on new brain drugs. A startup debuting with a nine-figure bankroll is the latest evidence.That startup, Draig Therapeutics, emerged from stealth on Wednesday with 107 million, or $140 million, in Series A funding thats been raised over the last nine months. Its using that cash to push a drug for major depressive disorder into Phase 2 testing this year, and advance two other medicines towards clinical development in 2026.Psychiatric conditions like depression are thought to be associated with an imbalance in the signals transmitted throughout the brains circuitry. Draigs lead program, codenamed DT-101, is meant to balance out this excitatory and inhibitory activity by homing in on a receptor in the brain called AMPA that, in recent years, has emerged as a promising depression target.The company plans to start Phase 2 studies of DT-101 by the end of the year. Behind it are two other programs that act on GABA-A receptors, the focus of two drugs Sage Therapeutics brought to market for postpartum depression. Draig has not disclosed which diseases its pursuing with those programs, but claimed in a statement that they are highly selective and have best-in-class potential.Like other brain drug developers, Draig faces tough challenges ahead. The complicated underpinnings of psychiatric disorders, combined with trouble designing clinical tests that can eliminate placebo responses, make it difficult for new medicines to break through.Ruth McKernan, Draigs executive chair, wrote in an email to BioPharma Dive said that the company has deep experience putting together trials for neuropsychiatric conditions and will use a range of different strategies to minimize the risk of placebo effects.Draig co-founded in 2024 by McKernan, an operating partner at SV Health Investors, and John Atack and Simon Ward, directors of the Medicines Discovery Institute at Cardiff University in Wales. Its Series A round was led by Access Biotechnology, and included participation from six other investors including Canaan Partners, SR One and Sanofi Ventures.Draig Therapeutics emerged from stealth on June 18, 2025, after being spun out of research at Cardiff University in Wales. The company was co-founded by (left to right) John Atack, Ruth McKernan and Simon Ward.Permission granted by Draig TherapeuticsMegarounds like the fundraising Draig announced Wednesday have become increasingly common in biotech. At least two dozen drug startups, including Draig, have attracted more than $100 million in venture capital in a single round so far this year, according to BioPharma Dive data tracking some of the sectors most active investors. '