Eight of the biggest immunology and inflammation (I&I) deals in 2025

Immunology and inflammation (I&I) plays a central role in the biotech industry, driving the development of therapies that target the immune system to treat autoimmune diseases and chronic inflammatory conditions. Deals in this space, which range from early-stage research collaborations to late-stage licensing agreements, focus on innovative drug classes such as bispecific antibodies, small molecules, and even molecular glue degraders. These partnerships ultimately enable biotech companies to share risk, access specialized expertise, and accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries into clinically and commercially viable treatments. In this article, we look at eight I&I deals in 2025. 

AstraZeneca and Harbour BioMed 

AstraZeneca was involved in one of the standout I&I deals of 2025 as it entered into a global strategic collaboration with Harbour BioMed in March that involved an upfront payment, near-term milestone payments, and option exercise fees totaling $175 million, as well as up to $4.4 billion in additional development and commercial milestone payments.  

The two companies had previously collaborated in 2022 when AstraZeneca licensed Harbour BioMed’s preclinical bispecific antibody HBM7022. This time, the deal involved the discovery and development of next-generation multi-specific antibodies for immunology, oncology, and beyond.  

Multispecific antibodies are novel drug modalities that can bind simultaneously to two or more target proteins or bridge two different cells to elicit a therapeutic effect. These therapies are beginning to expand beyond oncology and into areas like I&I as they have the potential to treat immunological diseases by targeting multiple inflammatory pathways at once and precisely modulating immune cells, ultimately enhancing efficacy.  

The specific terms of the partnership stated that AstraZeneca would be able to obtain the option to license two preclinical immunology programs and would nominate further targets for Harbour BioMed to discover next-generation multi-specific antibodies. Furthermore, the big pharma was given the option to license these programs for advancement into clinical development. 

AstraZeneca also acquired 9.15% of newly issued shares of Harbour BioMed as part of the deal.  

Vor Bio and RemeGen 

In an extremely surprising move in June 2025, Vor Bio, which a month and a half previously had announced that it would be winding down existing clinical and manufacturing operations and laying off 95% of its staff, said that it had agreed a licensing deal potentially worth more than $4 billion for a late-stage autoimmune asset with Chinese biotech RemeGen.  

The asset in question is telitacicept, a novel dual-target fusion protein that has already been approved in China for generalized myasthenia gravis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and rheumatoid arthritis. By selectively inhibiting BlyS (also known as BAFF) and APRIL – cytokines critical to B cell survival – the drug works by reducing autoreactive B cells and autoantibody production.  

The agreement between the two companies granted Vor Bio ex-China rights to develop and commercialize telitacicept. At the time of the deal, RemeGen was conducting a global phase 3 study that was enrolling in the U.S., Europe, and South America, with initial results expected in the first half of 2027. 

As well as the potential $4 billion in milestone payments, the I&I deal stated that Vor Bio gave RemeGen an initial payment of $125 million, consisting of an upfront payment of $45 million, as well as $80 million of warrants to purchase common stock with an exercise price of $0.0001 per share. 

Gilead and LEO Pharma 

At the start of this year, it was clear that Gilead would continue to spread its wings away from its original infectious disease focus into areas like cancer and immunology, as it made a $1.7 billion deal with dermatology company LEO Pharma. The agreement focused on LEO Pharma’s small molecule oral STAT6 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 6) programs for the potential treatment of patients with inflammatory diseases. 

STAT6 is the specific transcription factor required for IL-4 and IL-13 cytokine signaling, which are clinically validated targets for Th2-mediated inflammatory conditions such as atopic dermatitis, asthma, and COPD. Targeting STAT6 has shown promise in preclinical studies for treating a broad population of patients and could provide an oral alternative to those currently treated with injectable biologics. 

The terms of the agreement stated that Gilead would acquire LEO Pharma’s preclinical oral STAT6 small molecule inhibitors and targeted protein degraders, and would lead further development efforts for the oral programs, while LEO Pharma would lead development for potential topical formulations of STAT6 inhibitors. 

Sanofi and Earendil Labs 

To further bolster its immunology pipeline, Sanofi struck a deal with the artificial intelligence (AI) biotech Earendil Labs in April 2025 worth up to $1.8 billion for exclusive worldwide rights to two potential first-in-class bispecific antibodies, HXN-1002 and HXN-1003, in the field of autoimmune and inflammatory bowel diseases.  

HXN-1002 works by targeting both α4β7 and TL1A and is designed to provide a treatment option for patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. By simultaneously inhibiting two clinically validated targets, the candidate holds potential to significantly improve clinical efficacy, particularly for the refractory patients. 

Meanwhile, HXN-1003 targets TL1A and IL23, two central drivers of inflammation in various human autoimmune diseases, and has shown synergistic efficacy in preclinical models of colitis and skin inflammation by simultaneously blocking both of these pathways.  

Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Enlaza Therapeutics 

In September, Vertex Pharmaceuticals entered into a multi-target drug discovery collaboration with Enlaza Therapeutics, which involved using Enlaza’s War-Lock technology platform to develop small-format drug conjugates and T-cell engagers for certain autoimmune diseases, as well as for improved conditioning in sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia. 

Enlaza’s platform creates highly specific warheads that covalently bind to drug targets of interest. More specifically, it utilizes proprietary non-natural amino acids to precision-engineer biologic medicines that expand the therapeutic window to enable safer, more effective therapies across numerous therapeutic modalities.  

Under the terms of the agreement, Enlaza received $45 million from Vertex, including an upfront payment and equity investment. The company is also eligible to receive more than $2 billion in future milestone payments, including research, development, regulatory, and commercial milestones, plus tiered royalties on net sales.  

Additionally, it was agreed that Enlaza would lead all research activities through to development candidate nomination, and Vertex would subsequently lead all future research, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of successful product candidates, as well as funding all research and development costs related to the four-year collaboration. 

Sanofi and Dren Bio 

The most recent I&I deal came just this week, as Sanofi entered into a strategic collaboration worth up to $1.8 billion with Dren Bio to discover and develop a next-generation B-cell depletion therapy for the treatment of various autoimmune diseases. 

This agreement builds on the existing relationship between the two companies after Sanofi acquired Dren Bio’s DR-0201 program earlier this year for deep B-cell depletion; DR-0201, now known as SAR448501, is currently being evaluated in two ongoing phase 1 studies and has shown robust B-cell depletion, with the potential to induce sustained treatment-free remission in patients with autoimmune diseases. The new collaboration will also further leverage Dren Bio’s Targeted Myeloid Engager and Phagocytosis platform to discover first-in-class multispecific antibody therapeutics.  

Under the terms of the agreement, Sanofi will assume responsibility for development, manufacturing, regulatory, and commercialization efforts following the development candidate selection. Meanwhile, Dren Bio has the option to enter a U.S. profit/loss sharing arrangement with Sanofi, which, if exercised, means that Dren Bio will co-fund 40% of ongoing global development costs in exchange for U.S. co-promotion rights and a 50/50 share of U.S. profits and losses. Dren Bio will also remain eligible to receive milestones and tiered royalties on net sales outside the U.S. 

AbbVie and Neomorph 

In January, AbbVie was involved in a big deal with Neomorph to develop novel molecular glue degraders for multiple targets across both oncology and immunology. The deal included an undisclosed upfront payment for Neomorph, as well as up to $1.64 billion in aggregate option fees and milestones, and tiered royalties on net sales. 

Molecular glue degraders are a class of small molecules that have recently been attracting attention from big pharma, including the likes of Roche, BMS, and Merck. While they are primarily being developed to treat cancer, they also hold promise in immunological conditions as they can selectively eliminate proteins that drive aberrant immune activation or inflammation. This targeted protein removal can enable deeper, longer-lasting modulation of immune responses with the potential for improved specificity and reduced systemic immunosuppression. 

Although not many details were provided about the collaboration between these two companies, it will ultimately leverage AbbVie’s expertise in oncology and immunology drug development and Neomorph’s leading molecular glue discovery platform.  

Novartis and Matchpoint Therapeutics 

July 2025 saw Novartis team up with Matchpoint Therapeutics to develop and commercialize an oral covalent inhibitor directed at a transcription factor linked to a number of inflammatory diseases. 

Under the terms of the agreement, Matchpoint is utilizing its Advanced Covalent Exploration (ACE) platform to advance its preclinical program through development candidate selection. The company is also leading all research activities to that point and will receive research funding from Novartis. Meanwhile, if Novartis exercises its option to exclusively license the program, Novartis will have global rights to develop and commercialize all products resulting from the collaboration.  

In terms of the financials, it was agreed that Matchpoint would receive up to $60 million in upfront payment and research funding, and up to $1 billion in total potential payments, including option exercise fee, development, and commercial milestones.