Pyxis Oncology Acquires Apexigen

Pyxis Oncology Acquires Apexigen

Pyxis Oncology announced on May 24 that it acquired Apexigen, Inc. for $16 million.  Founded in 2010, Apexigen, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing a new generation of antibody therapeutics for oncology. Pyxis Oncology is building a differentiated portfolio of biologics, including antibody-drug conjugates and immunotherapies. It is funded by the Longwood Fund, a Boston-based venture capital firm.  This acquisition was announced nearly a year after Apexigen went public by a merger with Brookline Capital Acquisition Corp.  According to data captured in the LevinPro HC database, this acquisition represents the 61st... Read More »
Bavarian Nordic Closes Acquisition of Emergent BioSolutions’ Travel Health Business

Bavarian Nordic Closes Acquisition of Emergent BioSolutions’ Travel Health Business

Gaithersburg, Maryland-based Emergent BioSolutions Inc., a specialty biopharmaceutical company, announced that it closed on the sale of its portfolio of travel vaccines to Bavarian Nordic. The transaction was initially announced on February 15, 2023.  The portfolio includes Vivotif and Vaxchora, which prevent typhoid fever and cholera, respectively. Emergent BioSolutions is also selling a Phase III vaccine candidate for the prevention of Chikungunya virus. Emergent received $270 million and may receive up to an additional $110 million in potential future milestone payments. Wells Fargo Securities, LLC served as financial advisor, and Barnes & Thornburg LLP served as legal counsel... Read More »
Pyxis Oncology Acquires Apexigen

Astellas Pharma to Acquire Iveric Bio for $5.9 Billion

Astellas Pharma announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Iveric Bio for $40 per share in cash, for a total equity value of approximately $5.9 billion. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2023. Under the terms of the agreement, Iveric Bio will become an indirectly wholly owned subsidiary of Astellas Pharma. The acquisition includes avacincaptad pegol, which is under evaluation for the treatment of geographic atrophy. Iveric Bio is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel treatments for retinal diseases with significant unmet medical needs. The company delivers treatments designed to address... Read More »
Pyxis Oncology Acquires Apexigen

Merck Acquires Prometheus Biosciences for $10.8 Billion

Merck & Co., Inc. announced on April 17 that it will acquire, through a subsidiary, Prometheus Biosciences for $200.00 per share for a total equity value of approximately $10.8 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as financial advisor to Merck and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP as its legal advisors. Centerview Partners LLC and Goldman Sachs acted as financial advisors to Prometheus and Latham & Watkins LLP as the company’s legal advisor. Prometheus Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering a precision medicine approach for the discovery, development and... Read More »
Bavarian Nordic Closes Acquisition of Emergent BioSolutions’ Travel Health Business

Miltenyi Biotec Acquires lino Biotech

Miltenyi Biotec, a Bergisch Gladbach, Germany-based company, announced on March 22 that it acquired lino Biotech. Miltenyi Biotec purchased 100% of the shares from investors such as Switzerland-based Roche Venture Fund and Germany-based Hightech-Grunderfonds. Brown Gibbons Lang & Company initiated the transaction and acted as the exclusive financial advisor to lino Biotech.  lino Biotech is the world’s only company specialized in focal molography – a new method for measuring molecular interactions in living cells or crude biological samples. It is based in Zurich and was founded in 2020. Miltenyi Biotec has been a global provider of products and services for biomedical research... Read More »
Pfizer Acquires Seagen for $43 Billion

Pfizer Acquires Seagen for $43 Billion

Pfizer Inc. has acquired Seagen Inc. for $43 billion, representing the largest purchase price for a biotechnology deal in 2023. The transaction is expected to be completed in late 2023 or early 2024. Pfizer will pay $229 in cash for each share of Seagen and pay primarily through $31 billion in new, long-term debt. Shares of Pfizer rose 2% to $40.26 after markets opened on March 13 while Seagen’s stock soared more than 15% to nearly $200. Seagen Inc. specializes in working with antibody-drug conjugate technology. Its key products use lab-made proteins called monoclonal antibodies that seek out cancer cells to help deliver a cancer-killing drug while sparing surrounding tissue. It also has a... Read More »