Biotechnology Acquisitions in California

Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (Sobi) has completed the acquisition of Arthrosi Therapeutics, acquiring all outstanding shares and adding pozdeutinurad (AR882), an investigational once-daily oral URAT1 inhibitor in two fully enrolled Phase 3 trials. The acquisition strengthens Sobi's gout franchise and pipeline; Arthrosi is headquartered in San Diego and rights to pozdeutinurad in Greater China are held by ApicHope. Pivotal Phase 3 data from REDUCE 1 and REDUCE 2 are expected in 2026.

Merck & Co., through subsidiary Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, completed a cash tender offer to acquire Cidara Therapeutics, Inc. for $221.50 per share, making Cidara a wholly owned subsidiary. The acquisition adds Cidara's long-acting antiviral candidate CD388 to Merck's respiratory portfolio and is being accounted for as an asset acquisition.

Eli Lilly, through its wholly owned subsidiary Flying Tigers Acquisition Corporation, completed a tender offer to acquire Adverum Biotechnologies. Shareholders tendered approximately 64% of outstanding shares for $3.56 per share plus one contingent value right (CVR) per share (up to $8.91 aggregate upon milestone achievement); the parties expect to consummate the merger on December 9, 2025.

Quintara Biosciences has completed the acquisition of the Laragen Sanger Sequencing business (formerly operated by Transnetyx), effective September 15, 2025. The purchase preserves local operations and customer service in Los Angeles while expanding Quintara’s California sequencing footprint and capabilities.

Bausch Health Companies Inc. completed a tender offer to acquire DURECT Corporation for $1.75 per share in cash (approximately $63 million upfront), plus up to $350 million in potential net sales milestone payments. The acquisition brings DURECT’s lead asset, larsucosterol — an FDA Breakthrough Therapy candidate for alcohol-associated hepatitis with a Phase 3 program planned — into Bausch Health’s hepatology pipeline; DURECT will become a wholly owned subsidiary and its Nasdaq shares will be delisted.

AbbVie has completed its acquisition of Capstan Therapeutics, adding Capstan's lead asset CPTX2309 — an in vivo targeted lipid nanoparticle (tLNP) anti‑CD19 CAR‑T candidate in Phase 1 for B cell‑mediated autoimmune diseases — and a proprietary tLNP RNA delivery platform. The deal strengthens AbbVie's immunology pipeline and expands its in vivo cell‑programming capabilities for RNA payload delivery.

Funds managed by Perceptive Advisors have acquired substantially all of the assets of Synthego, with the transaction closing on July 18, 2025. Synthego will continue operating under its existing leadership and brand, maintaining manufacturing of guide RNA in Redwood City while leveraging Perceptive's resources to accelerate product development and expand its CRISPR offerings.

Novartis has completed the acquisition of Regulus Therapeutics, making Regulus an indirect wholly owned subsidiary following a tender offer and merger. The deal secures Regulus' investigational oligonucleotide therapy farabursen for ADPKD and strengthens Novartis' renal disease pipeline.

Altos Labs has acquired Stanford spinout Dorian Therapeutics, a preclinical senotherapeutics startup developing small-molecule "senoblockers." Financial terms were not disclosed; Altos said the deal broadens its cellular rejuvenation capabilities by adding Dorian’s epigenetic senescence-targeting technology and preclinical programs in lung fibrosis and osteoarthritis.

CellBio Scientific, a provider of life science tools and research services, has acquired BioChain, a biospecimen collection, preparation, and analysis company based in Newark, California. The acquisition expands CellBio Scientific's capabilities in spatial genomics and biospecimen workflows, consolidating BioChain with System Biosciences and Acepix Biosciences to create a broader translational research platform.

Sanofi has agreed to acquire DR-0201, a CD20-directed bispecific myeloid cell engager, through purchase of Dren Bio’s affiliate Dren-0201 for an upfront $600 million and up to $1.3 billion in milestone payments. The deal, aimed at broadening Sanofi’s immunology pipeline and advancing deep B-cell depletion approaches, is expected to close in Q2 2025 subject to regulatory approvals; Dren Bio will continue to operate independently to advance its broader pipeline.

FairJourney Biologics S.A. has acquired Charles River Laboratories' South San Francisco site (formerly Distributed Bio), including facilities, staff, assets and proprietary antibody libraries and yeast display technology. The acquisition expands FairJourney's antibody discovery and engineering capabilities and establishes a strategic presence in a major U.S. biotech hub to better serve biopharma customers.

VION Biosciences acquired Hayward, California–based BioAssay Systems in January 2025 as the fourth add-on for its life‑science products platform. The deal adds BioAssay Systems’ enzymatic and high‑throughput assay kits, reagents and analytical services to VION’s proprietary product portfolio to accelerate capability expansion for drug discovery and life‑science research customers.

Roche Holdings, Inc. has agreed to acquire San Diego-based Poseida Therapeutics for $9.00 per share in cash plus a contingent value right (CVR) for up to $4.00 per share, representing an aggregate equity value of up to $1.5 billion. The acquisition will bring Poseida's non-viral gene-editing platforms, allogeneic TSCM-rich CAR-T programs and in-house GMP cell therapy manufacturing into Roche's Pharmaceuticals Division to establish a new core capability in allogeneic cell therapy.

GHO Capital Partners and Ampersand Capital Partners have completed the acquisition of Avid Bioservices, a dedicated biologics CDMO, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $1.1 billion. The transaction takes Avid private (shareholders received $12.50 per share) and positions the company for capability expansion, geographic reach and accelerated growth under the new PE ownership.

Leinco Technologies, a portfolio company backed by Ampersand Capital Partners, has acquired Genovis-owned QED Biosciences to expand its catalog of antibodies, recombinant proteins and IVD raw materials. The deal transfers Genovis' antibody business to Leinco and strengthens Leinco's antibody development and IVD support capabilities for research and diagnostics customers worldwide.

Boehringer Ingelheim agreed to acquire Nerio Therapeutics, a San Diego-based preclinical biotech focused on PTPN2/N1 phosphatase inhibitors for immuno-oncology, for up to $1.3 billion. Nerio was invested/incubated by Viva BioInnovator and backed by a syndicate including Avalon Ventures; the deal is intended to accelerate development of Nerio’s preclinical program as a cornerstone of Boehringer’s immuno-oncology portfolio.

1315 Capital, a Philadelphia-based healthcare-focused growth equity firm, made a significant equity investment in Primrose Bio to support development and commercial expansion of Primrose’s nucleic acid and protein manufacturing technologies. The funding will accelerate commercialization of the company’s Prima RNApols, Pfenex expression system, and PeliCRM carrier protein for therapeutics and vaccines.

GSK plc has completed the acquisition of Elsie Biotechnologies, a San Diego–based oligonucleotide-focused biotechnology company, for up to $50 million. The deal integrates Elsie's discovery, synthesis and delivery capabilities into GSK's oligonucleotide R&D platform to accelerate development of therapeutics for chronic hepatitis B, steatotic liver disease and other difficult-to-treat diseases.

Biogen Inc. has agreed to acquire Human Immunology Biosciences (HI-Bio) for $1.15 billion upfront and up to $650 million in milestone payments, in a deal valued at up to $1.8 billion. The acquisition adds HI-Bio's lead asset felzartamab, an investigational anti-CD38 antibody with Phase 2 data in multiple renal immune-mediated diseases, to Biogen's immunology and rare-disease development capabilities.

Johnson & Johnson has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Proteologix, Inc. for $850 million in cash plus potential milestone payments. Proteologix is a San Carlos, California–based biotechnology company developing bispecific antibodies (including PX128 and PX130) for atopic dermatitis and asthma; the deal is expected to close mid-2024 subject to customary conditions.

Incyte has agreed to acquire Escient Pharmaceuticals for $750 million plus Escient's net cash, adding two first‑in‑class oral MRGPR antagonists (EP262 and EP547) to its inflammation and autoimmunity portfolio. The acquisition, subject to customary closing conditions and HSR clearance, expands Incyte's pipeline in dermatology, chronic urticaria and pruritus with expected closing in 3Q 2024.

LENZ Therapeutics completed its previously announced merger with Graphite Bio and will commence trading on Nasdaq under the ticker LENZ. The transaction included a 1-for-7 reverse stock split, a special cash dividend, and a concurrent $53.5 million PIPE from a syndicate of healthcare investors, leaving the combined company with approximately $210 million in cash to support late-stage CLARITY Phase 3 readouts and planned NDA submission in mid-2024.

Gilead Sciences has completed the acquisition of CymaBay Therapeutics for approximately $4.3 billion, paying $32.50 per share in cash. The deal adds CymaBay's investigational PPARδ agonist seladelpar for primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) to Gilead's liver-disease portfolio and is expected to accelerate development and potential commercialization of the therapy.

GSK will acquire clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Aiolos Bio for $1 billion upfront and up to $400 million in regulatory milestone payments, gaining access to AIO-001, a long-acting anti-TSLP monoclonal antibody advancing into Phase II for asthma. The deal expands GSK's respiratory biologics pipeline with a potential best-in-class therapy that may offer dosing as infrequently as every six months.

Merck has agreed to acquire clinical-stage immunotherapy company Harpoon Therapeutics for $23.00 per share in cash, representing an approximate total equity value of $680 million. The acquisition gives Merck access to Harpoon's TriTAC / ProTriTAC platforms and lead candidate HPN328 (a DLL3-targeting T‑cell engager) to enhance its oncology pipeline; the deal is expected to close in the first half of 2024, subject to customary conditions.

Tome Biosciences has acquired Replace Therapeutics in a merger valued at $65 million in up-front and near-term milestones and up to $185 million total through a mix of cash and stock. Replace will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Tome, adding its ligase-mediated programmable genomic integration (L-PGI) technology to complement Tome's large-DNA integrase-mediated PGI platform to expand the company's gene‑editing capabilities.

Bristol Myers Squibb will acquire radiopharmaceutical developer RayzeBio in an all-cash tender offer of $62.50 per share, valuing RayzeBio at approximately $4.1 billion (about $3.6 billion net of cash). The acquisition brings RayzeBio's actinium-based radiopharmaceutical platform, a Phase 3 lead program (RYZ101) and in-house radiopharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities into Bristol Myers Squibb's oncology franchise to accelerate development and commercialization of targeted radiopharmaceutical therapeutics.

Aditxt, Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Evofem Biosciences in a stock-and-debt assumption transaction that will make Evofem a wholly owned subsidiary of Aditxt pending closing (anticipated H1 2024). The deal transfers approximately $100 million of consideration via stock issuance and assumption of certain senior indebtedness, and positions Aditxt to establish a women's health mission and scale Evofem’s hormone-free contraceptive Phexxi and other women's health products globally.

QHP Capital has acquired Applied StemCell, a Milpitas, California–based cell and gene therapy CRO/CDMO that provides iPSC and TARGATT gene‑editing platforms for biopharma and research clients. QHP said the acquisition will provide strategic capital and operating support to accelerate ASC's commercial expansion and scale its manufacturing and service capabilities for the cell and gene therapy market.

AbbVie has exercised its exclusive right and completed the acquisition of Mitokinin, a discovery-stage biotechnology company developing a selective PINK1 activator for Parkinson's disease. AbbVie paid $110 million at closing with up to $545 million in additional milestone payments plus tiered royalties contingent on development and commercial milestones.

Graf Acquisition Corp. IV completed its previously announced business combination with NKGen Biotech, Inc., resulting in NKGen becoming a wholly‑owned subsidiary and the combined company listing on Nasdaq under the ticker NKGN. The transaction provides NKGen with access to public markets and capital to accelerate development and commercialization of its autologous, allogeneic and CAR‑NK cell therapy programs.

Transnetyx, a Memphis-based provider of outsourced genetic services, has acquired Laragen, a sequencing and genetic services company in Culver City, California. The deal adds Sanger and next-generation sequencing (NGS) capabilities to Transnetyx's service portfolio to broaden its offerings for academic, government, and pharmaceutical research customers.

Bruker Corporation agreed to acquire PhenomeX Inc. in an all-cash transaction valued at roughly $108 million (purchase price $1.00 per share). PhenomeX — formed from the combination of Berkeley Lights and IsoPlexis and provider of single-cell biology instruments, software and reagents — will be folded into a Bruker subsidiary, marking Bruker’s entry into single-cell biology research tools and complementing its spatial biology offerings.

Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) has entered into an agreement to acquire Apton Biosystems, a Pleasanton, California-based developer of high-throughput short-read sequencing instrumentation, to accelerate development of a next-generation, high-throughput short-read sequencer. The all-stock deal provides approximately $85 million upfront (≈6.3M shares) plus up to $25 million in additional consideration contingent on achieving $50 million in revenue, valuing the transaction at up to ~$110 million.

Novartis has acquired DTx Pharma, a San Diego–based preclinical biotechnology company, for an upfront payment of USD 500 million plus contingent milestone payments. The deal brings DTx's FALCON siRNA delivery platform and lead program DTx-1252 (orphan-designated for CMT1A) into Novartis to strengthen its neuroscience pipeline and xRNA capabilities.

Eli Lilly agreed to acquire DICE Therapeutics for $48 per share (approximately $2.4 billion) in an all-cash tender offer to bolster Lilly's immunology pipeline and leverage DICE's DELSCAPE small-molecule discovery platform and oral IL-17 inhibitor programs. The transaction, approved by both boards, is expected to close in Q3 2023 subject to customary conditions and antitrust clearance.

Merck has agreed to acquire clinical-stage biotechnology company Prometheus Biosciences for $200.00 per share in cash, representing an approximate total equity value of $10.8 billion. The acquisition strengthens Merck's immunology pipeline by adding Prometheus' precision-medicine platform and lead candidate PRA023 (MK-7240) for inflammatory bowel disease and other immune-mediated conditions.

Gilead Sciences has acquired all outstanding shares of XinThera, a San Diego–based private biotechnology company, adding small-molecule oncology and inflammation programs (including PARP1-selective and MK2-targeting assets) to its early pipeline. Financial terms were not disclosed; XinThera was backed by investors including Foresite Capital, OrbiMed and TTM Capital.

Paragraf, Ltd. has acquired Cardea Bio, the developer of the graphene-based CRISPR-Chip that powers CRISPR QC's CRISPR Analytics Platform. The acquisition combines Paragraf's scalable graphene electronics manufacturing with Cardea's biosensor expertise to secure a reliable supply of CRISPR-chips and accelerate deployment of CRISPR Analytics capabilities across the gene‑editing and life‑sciences markets.

Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories, Ltd. (SNBL) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all outstanding shares of Satsuma Pharmaceuticals for $0.91 per share in cash plus a non-tradeable contingent value right (CVR) of up to $5.77 per share tied to future monetization of STS101. The transaction gives SNBL ownership of Satsuma's investigational intranasal migraine product STS101 and associated delivery technology, and is supported by Satsuma’s board as maximizing value for stockholders.

Inscripta, a genome engineering company based in Pleasanton, California, has acquired synthetic biology firms Infinome Biosciences and Sestina Bio to accelerate its capabilities in sustainable biomanufacturing. The acquisitions integrate Infinome's GenoScaler strain-engineering platform and Sestina's data-driven scale-up strain design to advance Inscripta's commercialization of bio-manufactured products for industrial and consumer markets.

Mubadala Investment Company PJSC has made an equity investment in National Resilience, Inc. (Resilience) and will establish a new GMP biopharma manufacturing facility in Abu Dhabi that Resilience will operate. The collaboration expands Resilience’s global biomanufacturing footprint, integrates the Abu Dhabi site into its network, and aims to strengthen regional and global biopharma supply chains.

QIAGEN completed the acquisition of Verogen for $150 million in cash, bringing Verogen’s NGS-based human identification and forensic genomics products and the GEDmatch database into QIAGEN’s forensics portfolio. The deal gives QIAGEN exclusive distribution rights for the MiSeq FGx forensic sequencer version and is intended to expand QIAGEN’s capabilities and commercial footprint in the fast-growing Human ID/forensics market.

Agilent Technologies has acquired Avida Biomed, an early-stage developer of high-performance NGS target enrichment workflows for cancer research. The acquisition augments Agilent's SureSelect portfolio and expands its capabilities into high-growth clinical research and diagnostics markets by adding Avida's chemistries and automatable assays compatible with Agilent platforms.

Vistagen (Nasdaq: VTGN) will acquire Pherin Pharmaceuticals in an all-stock transaction (approximately 12.4 million shares plus nominal cash), giving Vistagen full ownership of Pherin's pherine drug pipeline and intellectual property. The deal eliminates future royalty and milestone obligations related to PH94B and PH10 and adds three early-stage pherine candidates to Vistagen's development portfolio.

Kite, a Gilead company, will make a $225 million upfront cash payment plus a $100 million equity investment in Arcellx to co-develop and co-commercialise Arcellx's lead CAR-T candidate, CART-ddBCMA, for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The companies will share development and U.S. commercial economics (50/50 U.S. profits for co-commercialised products), with Kite responsible for manufacturing after technical transfer; ex-U.S. commercialization will be led by Kite with royalties to Arcellx.

Bionano Genomics agreed to acquire Purigen Biosystems to integrate Purigen's isotachophoresis (ITP) Ionic Purification System into Bionano's optical genome mapping (OGM) workflow, aiming to simplify ultra-high molecular weight (UHMW) DNA isolation and address difficult sample types. The deal consideration is up to $64 million (including $32 million cash at closing and milestone-contingent payments) and was expected to close by December 8, 2022.

Angus Chemical Company (a PE-backed specialty ingredients manufacturer) has acquired Expression Systems, LLC, a Davis, California-based maker of cell culture media, baculovirus reagents, cell lines and related contract services. The acquisition expands Angus' life‑sciences capabilities into specialty cell culture media and strengthens its bioprocessing product and service offering; Achelous Partners served as exclusive advisor to Expression Systems.

Leica Biosystems has acquired Cell IDx, a San Diego-based leader in multiplexed tissue profiling, integrating Cell IDx's UltraPlex multiplex IHC technology with Leica's BOND RX automation to expand translational research and multiplexing capabilities. The deal advances Leica's research-focused staining and imaging portfolio and brings scale-up and medical/scientific affairs support for Cell IDx customers.