Biotechnology Acquisitions in 2020

Novartis has entered an agreement to acquire Cadent Therapeutics, a Cambridge, Massachusetts–based clinical‑stage neuroscience company, adding two clinical‑stage programs for schizophrenia and movement disorders plus the buyout of MIJ821 milestones/royalties. The deal (reported up to $770 million including milestones) strengthens Novartis' neuropsychiatry portfolio and is expected to close in Q1 2021 subject to customary conditions.

Ginkgo Bioworks acquired the main assets of Novogy, Inc., absorbing Novogy's strain assets, IP portfolio, codebase and most of its technical team. The acquisition brings Novogy's expertise in lipid-producing oleaginous yeasts (notably Yarrowia lipolytica) into Ginkgo's cell‑programming platform to accelerate development of bio-based oils, chemicals and materials.

Eli Lilly agreed to acquire Prevail Therapeutics for $22.50 per share in cash (approximately $880 million) plus a non-tradable contingent value right (CVR) worth up to $4.00 per share (up to ~$160 million), for total consideration of up to ~$1.04 billion. The deal establishes a gene therapy program at Lilly anchored by Prevail’s AAV9-based neuroscience pipeline; the transaction was structured as a tender offer with expected close in Q1 2021 subject to customary conditions.

Igenomix, a Spanish reproductive-genetics company, acquired Toronto-based laboratory Access Genomics (Access Genomics Canada) from Persistence Capital Partners on December 14, 2020. The acquisition expands Igenomix’s presence in North America and strengthens its ability to serve fertility clinics in the Toronto area.

Merck will acquire all outstanding shares of clinical-stage biopharmaceutical OncoImmune for $425 million upfront in cash, with additional sales-based and regulatory milestone payments possible. The deal centers on accelerating development of OncoImmune’s CD24Fc for severe and critical COVID-19; non-CD24Fc assets will be spun out into a new company in which Merck will invest $50 million for a minority stake.

Merck & Co., Inc. will acquire all outstanding shares of clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company VelosBio for $2.75 billion in cash. The acquisition adds VelosBio's lead investigational antibody-drug conjugate VLS-101 and ROR1-directed pipeline assets to Merck's oncology portfolio and is expected to close by the end of 2020, subject to customary conditions.

EQT Public Value, an EQT Partners fund, has committed to acquire 1,625,000 B shares in Swedish probiotic company BioGaia AB via a directed share issue for SEK 650 million, subject to approval at an extraordinary general meeting. The investment is a minority growth-capital commitment intended to support BioGaia's continued global expansion by providing access to EQT's healthcare expertise, advisory network and in-house digital and sustainability teams.

Sana Biotechnology announced the acquisition of Oscine Corp., integrating Oscine’s glial progenitor cell program and technologies into Sana’s broader platform to advance CNS therapies. Steve Goldman, Oscine’s scientific founder, joined Sana as Head of CNS Therapy; terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Calibre Scientific announced the acquisition of Dianova GmbH, a Hamburg-based manufacturer and distributor of antibodies, immunoassays and molecular biology products. Dianova will be integrated into BIOZOL Diagnostica GmbH (a Calibre Scientific subsidiary) to expand product offerings and strengthen distribution across the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland).

Bayer AG agreed to acquire U.S.-headquartered Asklepios BioPharmaceutical (AskBio), adding AskBio's AAV-based gene therapy platform, IP and CDMO manufacturing capabilities to Bayer’s emerging cell and gene therapy unit. Bayer will pay $2.0 billion upfront plus up to $2.0 billion in potential milestone payments; existing minority shareholders TPG Capital and Vida Ventures supported the transaction.

insitro has acquired Haystack Sciences to integrate Haystack’s DNA-encoded library (DEL) technology and nDexer platform into insitro’s machine-learning-driven drug discovery efforts. The acquisition expands insitro’s small-molecule design and high-throughput chemistry capabilities to accelerate predictive model-driven therapeutics discovery; financial terms were not disclosed.

DermBiont, a Boston-based clinical-stage precision dermatology company, has acquired SeylanMED, adding a targeted topical AKT inhibitor gel candidate for seborrheic keratosis to its pipeline. The acquisition expands DermBiont's therapeutic modalities and accelerates its objective to develop targeted topical treatments and live bacterial therapeutics for skin diseases.

Eli Lilly and Company agreed to acquire Cambridge-based Disarm Therapeutics for an upfront $135.0 million, with potential development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments of up to $1.225 billion. The acquisition adds Disarm's preclinical SARM1 inhibitor programs to Lilly's R&D efforts in pain and neurodegeneration to accelerate development of disease‑modifying therapies for axonal degeneration.

Summa Equity Fund II has acquired a majority stake in Sengenics, a functional proteomics company that commercialises the KREX technology for full‑length, correctly folded protein production and autoantibody detection. The investment will support Sengenics' product development, global expansion and accelerated commercial adoption across pharma, academic research and diagnostics.

BridgeBio Pharma agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Eidos Therapeutics that it does not already own, offering Eidos shareholders the choice of 1.85 BridgeBio shares or cash (up to a $175 million aggregate cash cap). The transaction reunites Eidos and its lead candidate acoramidis with BridgeBio’s clinical development and commercial infrastructure to accelerate development and potential global launch of the therapy for ATTR.

Novartis has acquired Vedere Bio, a Cambridge-based optogenetics AAV gene therapy company, for $150 million upfront plus up to $130 million in potential regulatory and clinical milestones (total consideration of $280 million). The deal includes Vedere Bio's lead preclinical intravitreal AAV programs focused on pan-genotypic vision restoration; earlier-stage assets were spun out into a newly formed independent company, Vedere Bio II.

Ampersand Capital Partners has made a majority growth equity investment in GeneWerk GmbH to expand the company's cell and gene therapy testing capabilities and support U.S. and European market expansion. GeneWerk, a Heidelberg-based clinical and preclinical testing laboratory known for vector integration site analysis and bioinformatics services, will use the capital to scale capabilities and meet rising demand for cell and gene therapy testing.

Gilead Sciences agreed to acquire Immunomedics for $88.00 per share in an all-cash transaction valuing Immunomedics at approximately $21 billion. The acquisition gives Gilead global rights (outside certain Asian territories) to Trodelvy, an FDA‑approved antibody‑drug conjugate for metastatic triple‑negative breast cancer, and accelerates Gilead’s expansion into oncology.

Bruker Corporation has acquired Canopy Biosciences, LLC to strengthen its targeted multi-omics and high-plex biomarker imaging capabilities, adding Canopy's ChipCytometry platform and multi-omics services. Financial terms were not disclosed; Ampersand Capital Partners was identified as Canopy's lead investor.

JMD Properties, Inc. announced the acquisition of Stella Diagnostics, LLC via a preferred stock transaction and will change its corporate name to Stella Diagnostics, Inc. The deal positions the public company to pivot into the molecular diagnostics / biotech sector to commercialize Stella’s oncology-focused assays for esophageal disease.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals agreed to acquire the approximately 24% of Akcea Therapeutics it does not already own for $18.15 per share in cash, implying a fully diluted transaction value of about $500 million. The deal will be executed via a tender offer followed by a second-step merger, and Ionis expects to complete the transaction in Q4 2020 to consolidate Akcea's pipeline, commercial products and cash while realizing cost synergies.

Northwest Biotherapeutics (NW Bio) acquired Flaskworks, a developer of closed-system automation for cell therapy manufacturing, to scale up production volumes of its DCVax products and reduce manufacturing costs. The acquisition closed on August 28, 2020 for approximately $4.33 million in cash and stock consideration; Flaskworks' technical team joined NW Bio and certain IP and a license from Northeastern University were included.

Bristol Myers Squibb entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Forbius, a clinical-stage protein engineering company, to obtain its isoform‑selective TGF‑beta 1 & 3 program including lead asset AVID200. The deal includes an upfront payment plus potential milestone payments; Forbius' non‑TGF‑beta assets will be transferred to a newly formed private company retained by Forbius' existing shareholders, and the parties expected to close in Q4 2020 subject to customary conditions.

Bayer has agreed to acquire UK-based clinical-stage biotech KaNDy Therapeutics Ltd. for an upfront $425 million with up to $450 million in additional milestone payments, expanding Bayer's women's healthcare drug development pipeline—specifically the investigational non-hormonal compound NT-814 for menopausal vasomotor symptoms. The acquisition, subject to customary conditions, was announced in August 2020 and is expected to close in September 2020.

Charles River Laboratories (CRL) completed the acquisition of Cellero, a provider of donor and patient apheresis services, GMP-grade biomaterials, and custom laboratory services, for approximately $38 million in cash. The purchase, from Ampersand Capital Partners, expands Charles River's capabilities and offerings in cell and gene therapy support services worldwide.

Genesis Drug Discovery & Development (GD3), a member of Genesis Biotechnology Group (GBG), has acquired Comparative Biosciences, Inc. (CBI), a Sunnyvale-based preclinical CRO. The acquisition adds GLP toxicology and safety pharmacology capabilities to GD3/GBG's integrated preclinical services, enabling end-to-end IND-enabling studies and expanding GD3's service offering.

Smiths Detection has completed the acquisition of PathSensors, a Baltimore-based biotechnology and environmental-testing company. The deal expands Smiths Detection's biological-detection capabilities, enhancing its ability to detect pathogens across end markets including food and agriculture safety and public health surveillance.

3i Group's single-use bioprocessing platform has acquired Sani-Tech West, Inc., a Camarillo, California-based manufacturer and distributor of single-use bioprocessing systems and components. The deal adds Sani-Tech's ~170 employees, cleanroom manufacturing footprint and product lines (bottles, caps, tubing, fittings and assemblies) to 3i's existing platform (including Cellon, Silicone Altimex and TBL), enhancing global manufacturing capacity, supply-chain assurance and product breadth for biopharma customers.

Curi Bio, a Seattle-based developer of human iPSC platforms for drug discovery, has acquired Dana Solutions to integrate Dana's AI/ML platforms (PhenoLearn, Pulse, PhenoTox) into Curi's human cell- and tissue-based discovery and safety-testing offerings. The deal (terms undisclosed) will allow Curi to offer combined predictive human iPSC-derived models and AI-enabled phenotypic data insights and will continue a prior FDA-funded collaboration to validate PhenoTox.

ATAI Life Sciences AG acquired a majority stake in New York–based pharmaceutical company Kures to advance Kures' mitragynine-derived therapeutic candidates (KUR-101 and KUR-002) targeting pain and opioid use disorder. The deal brings Kures onto ATAI's biotech platform and appoints ATAI CSO Srinivas Rao as Kures CEO to accelerate development and integrate the assets into ATAI's mental-health-focused pipeline.

Riveria Investment Group has made a minority growth investment in Yaqrit Discovery Ltd., a clinical-stage liver disease biotechnology company spun out of University College London. The funding will support Yaqrit's ongoing clinical programs targeting cirrhosis and Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure (ACLF) and its broader development plans for complications of cirrhosis including NASH and NAFLD.

Repligen Corporation agreed to acquire Engineered Molding Technology (EMT), an Albany, New York manufacturer of single-use silicone assemblies, connectors and tubing used in biologic drug manufacturing. The purchase expands Repligen’s single-use ProConnex flow-path capabilities, streamlines its supply chain for ATF, and aims to deliver faster lead-times and a more integrated offering for biopharma and CDMO customers; terms were not disclosed and the deal was expected to close in Q3 2020.

Foundation Medicine has completed the acquisition of Lexent Bio, Inc., a California-based precision oncology company developing multiomics liquid biopsy platforms. The deal will accelerate Foundation Medicine's liquid biopsy research and development—incorporating low-pass WGS and methylation analysis into new assays—to expand diagnostic capabilities and support therapeutic development and earlier-stage patient monitoring.

Chr. Hansen Holding A/S has agreed to acquire 100% of UAS Laboratories LLC from Lakeview Equity Partners, the UAS management team and other shareholders for USD 530 million (net of tax assets). The acquisition (UAS Labs: ~230 employees, ~USD 85m revenue and >USD 30m EBITDA in 2020) strengthens Chr. Hansen’s microbial platform and Human Health business by adding probiotic strains, two GMP production facilities in Wisconsin, and increased fermentation and downstream processing capacity.

GHO Capital Partners LLP has acquired X‑Chem, Inc., the Waltham-based provider of DNA‑Encoded Library (DEL) small‑molecule discovery services, from an affiliate of The Carlyle Group and Hellman & Friedman. GHO will invest in X‑Chem's DEL platform and support international growth while appointing co‑founder Matt Clark as CEO.

Sensei Biotherapeutics has completed the acquisition of Alvaxa Biosciences, a Seattle-based developer of camelid (alpaca-derived) nanobodies and related discovery libraries. The purchase brings Alvaxa's nanobody libraries, discovery expertise and a partnership with Hope Farms into Sensei's ImmunoPhage platform to expand its immuno-oncology capabilities.

Shionogi & Co., Ltd. agreed to acquire clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Tetra Therapeutics, giving Shionogi global rights to Tetra's portfolio including BPN14770. The deal, announced May 26, 2020, is valued at up to $500 million in milestone and contingent payments.

Olink Proteomics AB has acquired Agrisera AB, a Swedish antibody producer, to accelerate development and in‑house production of antibodies for Olink’s PEA immunoassay portfolio. The deal secures supply, lowers cost for customers, and expands Olink’s assay development capabilities by integrating Agrisera’s high-throughput antibody production.

PTC Therapeutics has entered into an agreement to acquire Censa Pharmaceuticals to obtain CNSA-001 (sepiapterin), a Phase 3–ready oral therapy for phenylketonuria (PKU) and other BH4-pathway disorders. Under the deal PTC will pay approximately $10 million cash upfront and up to 850,000 shares of PTC common stock, plus potential development, regulatory and sales milestones totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals agreed to acquire Portola Pharmaceuticals in a cash tender offer at $18.00 per share to add Portola’s Factor Xa inhibitor reversal agent Andexxa and diversify Alexion’s commercial portfolio beyond its complement franchise. The transaction, unanimously approved by both boards, was expected to close in the third quarter of 2020 and will be funded with Alexion’s cash on hand.

Oragenics, Inc. has acquired Noachis Terra Inc., including a worldwide, nonexclusive NIH license for the TerraCoV2 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate, in a stock purchase transaction that made Noachis Terra a wholly owned subsidiary. The deal included cash, shares and warrants and positions Oragenics to advance TerraCoV2 toward clinical development, potentially financed by company cash and government grants (NIH/BARDA).

Edmonton-based CanBiocin Inc. acquired all assets of Denver-based Pure Cultures Inc., effective April 30, 2020, including species-specific probiotics, a U.S. patent and product brands Flock Vitality and Pig Vitality. The acquisition establishes CanBiocin operations in the United States and brings Pure Cultures founder Steve Kazemi into CanBiocin as Chief Commercialization Officer; deal terms were not disclosed.

DiscernDx, a Palo Alto precision medicine company, has acquired Luminist Labs, a privately-held diagnostic platform developer focused on early detection and diagnosis of liver disease. The acquisition will integrate Luminist's data and platform into DiscernDx's multi-omics system to accelerate development of non-invasive diagnostic and prognostic solutions for NASH and other chronic metabolic liver diseases. Terms were not disclosed.

Warburg Pincus has made a major growth investment in Polyplus-transfection SA alongside existing majority shareholder ArchiMed, with both firms becoming equal shareholders while Polyplus management remains significant minority owners. The capital will be used to expand production capacity, accelerate product innovation, increase international expansion, and hire across technical, regulatory, and commercial functions to serve the gene and cell therapy market.

Pressure BioSciences signed a binding letter of intent to merge with Cannaworx, Inc., bringing Cannaworx's portfolio of hemp-derived CBD, cosmeceutical, nutraceutical and veterinary products into PBI's public company. Post-transaction, Cannaworx products are expected to utilize PBI's Ultra Shear Technology to create stable, highly bioabsorbable nanoemulsions and to accelerate product commercialization across consumer, veterinary and agricultural markets.

Bio-Rad Laboratories has acquired Celsee, Inc., a developer of instruments and consumables for single-cell isolation, detection and analysis. The acquisition expands Bio‑Rad’s capabilities in single-cell analysis and precision medicine; terms were not disclosed.

NewLeaf Brands Inc. signed an LOI and subsequently a definitive agreement in April 2020 to acquire Mydecine Group, a Colorado-headquartered company focused on medicinal and infused mushroom cultivation, processing, product development and R&D. The deal contemplated the purchase of 100% of Mydecine for USD $850,000 payable in NewLeaf common shares; NewLeaf later operated the business as a wholly-owned subsidiary and rebranded to Mydecine Innovations Group.

Servier has acquired 100% of the share capital of Symphogen A/S from Novo Holdings and the remaining owners, taking ownership of the Danish therapeutic antibody discovery and early biologics development company. The deal brings Symphogen’s antibody discovery platform and CMC biologics development capabilities into Servier’s oncology and immuno-oncology R&D efforts to strengthen its biologics pipeline and development capacity.

Daniel Alain, Inc. acquired a stake in Applied Biology, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on hair and skin science, to support development and launch of diagnostic tests and therapies for female pattern hair loss and other androgen-mediated conditions. The investment aims to allow Daniel Alain to expand its product and diagnostic capabilities for hair-loss solutions, including tests to identify patients at risk and non-responders to topical minoxidil.

Sumitomo Chemical, the global chemical company headquartered in Tokyo, made a strategic growth investment in Greater Boston biotech Conagen to accelerate the company’s synthetic biology research, development, and commercialization of sustainable bio-based chemicals. The partnership aims to combine Sumitomo’s industrial and manufacturing expertise with Conagen’s bio-manufacturing platforms to scale greener chemical production.