Asahi Kasei Acquires Calliditas Therapeutics

Asahi Kasei Medical Acquires Bionova Scientific

April 14, 2022

Biotechnology

Asahi Kasei Medical agreed to wholly acquire Bionova Scientific, a Fremont, California-based biopharmaceutical CDMO that provides process development and GMP-compliant manufacturing services for next-generation antibody drugs. The acquisition, executed through a U.S. subsidiary, expands Asahi Kasei Medical's bioprocess and CDMO capabilities to better serve biologics developers and accelerate growth of its bioprocess business; closing is subject to regulatory clearances.

Kyowa Kirin Acquires Orchard Therapeutics

October 5, 2023

Biotechnology

Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd. agreed to acquire Orchard Therapeutics plc for $16.00 per ADS in cash plus a $1.00 contingent value right (CVR), representing a potential total equity value of approximately $477.6 million. The acquisition gives Kyowa Kirin a leading HSC gene therapy platform and commercial asset Libmeldy, accelerating development and commercialization of Orchard's rare-disease gene therapies.

Merck & Co. Acquires Cidara Therapeutics

January 8, 2026

Biotechnology

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.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals to Acquire Remaining Stake in Akcea Therapeutics

August 31, 2020

Biotechnology

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.

Bayer AG Acquires Asklepios BioPharmaceutical (AskBio)

October 26, 2020

Biotechnology

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.

Catabasis Pharmaceuticals Acquires Quellis Biosciences Inc.

January 29, 2021

Biotechnology

Catabasis Pharmaceuticals has acquired Quellis Biosciences in a stock-for-stock merger to obtain Quellis' lead preclinical monoclonal antibody program QLS-215 for hereditary angioedema. Concurrent with the acquisition, Catabasis completed a private placement (PIPE) led by Perceptive Advisors and other institutional investors to raise approximately $110 million to fund IND-enabling studies and early clinical trials of QLS-215.