Clinical Trial Software Companies Are Hot
The digital health sector is benefitting big-time from the explosion in drug discovery transactions in 2017. Investors are now targeting eHealth companies specializing in clinical trial software. The statistics behind the surge in mergers and acquisitions in the drug discovery market are impressive. Through the first week in November, 43 deals targeting contract research organizations (CROs) have been announced, up nearly 70% from this time in 2016, and a 760% increase from this time in 2015. Biotechnology deals are speeding up as well, up nearly 30% from the past two years. Pharmaceutical companies are a main driver of demand in these sectors. Rather than fund in-house R&D, Big Pharma... Read More »
Deal of the Week: Novartis/AAAP
Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS) has spent most of 2017 buying up licenses to preclinical candidates. In the first 10 months of this year, it spent approximately $225 million in disclosed upfront payments. But the Swiss drugmaker just spent $3.9 billion for a more established drug product targeting neuroendocrine tumors. On October 30, 2017, Novartis acquired Advanced Accelerator Applications S.A. (NASDAQ: AAAP), a French radiopharmaceutical company that develops, produces and commercializes molecular nuclear medicines including Lutathera® (177Lu-DOTATATE), a first-in-class RLT product for neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). The radiopharmaceutical was approved in Europe last month for the treatment of... Read More »
Biotechnology Deal Volume Slides 22% in Q3
Biotechnology deal activity slid further in the third quarter, down 22% to 42 transactions, compared with the second quarter’s 54 transactions. The total represents 19% of the 217 deals announced in the previous 12 months. Deal making may have slowed in the face of growing complaints from President Trump about the high cost of drugs, and Congressional hearings were set to begin in mid-October. While M&A in the Pharmaceutical sector has been hit harder, most companies are dependent on biotechnology companies to innovate novel therapies in various areas. In the third quarter, nine of the 42 transactions involved the purchase of an entire company, and 33 involved the rights or license to... Read More »
Amgen Teams with CytomX
Oncology is driving some big deals, no question about it. More than 350 deals have had targets involved in some form of oncology program or drug since 2012. In the first week of October alone, we saw three deals targeting some form of oncology treatment. The one with the largest potential pay-off was announced between Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) and CytomX Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTMX). The deal has potential value of more than $1.5 billion. In this strategic collaboration, the companies will co-develop a CytomX Probody™ T-cell engaging bispecific against the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR), a highly validated oncology target expressed on multiple human cancer types. Probody... Read More »
Gilead Buys Kite Pharma to Diversify Portfolio
Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) finally found a target worth pursuing. The pharmaceutical company, perhaps best known for its high-priced hepatitis-C drugs, Harvoni and Solvadi, placed its bets on Kite Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: KITE), hoping to cash in on the biotech’s promising technology for fighting cancer. Gilead announced the acquisition of Kite Pharma for $180.00 per share, valuing the company at approximately $11.9 billion. The price represents a 29% premium to Kite’s closing price on August 25, 2017. Kite Pharma is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes novel cancer immunotherapy products. It is developing a pipeline of engineered... Read More »Schedule a demo
Gain access to the best healthcare and long-term care investment intelligence, data, and analysis.
