GlaxoSmithKline builds immunotherapy pipeline with new collaboration

GlaxoSmithKline builds immunotherapy pipeline with new collaboration

GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE: GSK) (GSK) has entered into a collaboration agreement with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany to study M7824, an investigational bifunctional fusion protein immunotherapy that is currently in clinical development for multiple difficult-to-treat cancers. Under the terms of the agreement, GSK will pay Merck KGaA $342.3 million (€300 million) upfront. Merck KGaA is also eligible for up to $3.31 billion (€2.9 billion) in milestone payments. The potential deal value could amount to $4.23 billion (€3.7 billion).  Both companies will jointly conduct development and commercialization with all profits and costs from the collaboration being shared equally on a global basis.... Read More »
Eli Lilly Acquires Loxo Oncology in its Largest Deal Yet

Eli Lilly Acquires Loxo Oncology in its Largest Deal Yet

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) hit the new year running when it announced the acquisition of Loxo Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ: LOXO), a biopharmaceutical company that develops medicines for genomically defined cancers. Under the terms of the deal, Lilly will acquire all outstanding shares of Loxo for $235.00 per share, or $8 billion. The offer represents a premium of approximately 68% to Loxo’s closing stock price on January 4, 2019. On a trailing 12-month basis, Loxo reported revenue of $144.8 million, for a multiple of nearly 55.3x. This marks the company’s largest acquisition, by price, since 2008, when the Indianapolis-based drug maker paid $6.5 billion, or 10.4x revenue, for... Read More »
Bristol-Myers Squibb Surprises with Celgene Deal

Bristol-Myers Squibb Surprises with Celgene Deal

Twas a week before the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Summit, and everything was quiet on the life sciences front. December deal-making hit a wall, with pharmaceutical deals falling 50% compared with last December. Then came Bristol-Myers Squibb’s (NYSE: BMY) announcement it was acquiring Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) for approximately $90 billion. This isn’t the biggest pharma or healthcare deal ever, however. The title goes to Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), for both the largest deal consummated ($114 billion for Warner-Lambert Company in November 1999) and the largest deal to be called off ($160 billion for Allergan plc in November 2015). Those facts make this the third largest... Read More »
2018’s Biggest Healthcare Deals by Sector

2018’s Biggest Healthcare Deals by Sector

2018 isn’t quite in the rearview mirror yet. We’re still scouring the news feeds for straggling deal announcements, and that never stops, honestly. With approximately 1,850 deals reported so far for 2018, healthcare deal volume is 14% more than 2017. Before we nail the numbers down, it’s easy to spot the biggest deals (by disclosed price) in each of the 13 healthcare sectors we follow. Most should be familiar names, but you can’t follow every sector. That’s why we’re here. Enjoy.   Read More »
GlaxoSmithKline Boosts Its Cancer Drug Pipeline

GlaxoSmithKline Boosts Its Cancer Drug Pipeline

British drug giant GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) has entered a new oncology arena with its acquisition of Tesaro Inc. (NASDAQ: TSRO) for approximately $5.1 billion. Tesaro is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company whose major marketed product, Zejula (niraparib), an oral poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, is currently approved for use in ovarian cancer. Specifically, it is in use in the United States and Europe as a treatment for adulta patients with recurrent ovarian cancer who are in response to platinum-based chemotherapy, regardless of BRCA gene mutation or biomarker status. More tests are under way to assess its use in “all-comers” patient populations, as a... Read More »
Harvest Health Expands into Florida Cannabis Market

Harvest Health Expands into Florida Cannabis Market

Harvest Health & Recreation, Inc. (OTC: HTHHF), a large vertically integrated cannabis company, jumped into the Florida medical marijuana market with its $65 million purchase of San Felasco Nurseries, Inc. The deal expands Harvest’s market reach, giving it more than 40 medical marijuana licenses in 10 states. San Felasco’s license allows it to produce and dispense medical marijuana products and operate as a Medical Marijuana Treatment Center. Each center can operate up to 25 dispensaries. The price is comprised of $34 million in cash, $29.65 million in multiple voting stock, valued at $390 per share, and $1.96 million in assumption of debt. Harvest’s move follows MedMen... Read More »