The top biotech deals of December 2024

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Biopharma partnerships fuel significant contributions towards healthcare and drug discovery. The year 2024 ended with several biotechs teaming up to make these therapeutic advancements. December saw antibody-drug conjugates, small molecules, and antibodies in demand. Notably, GSK, Novartis, and Candid Therapeutics stood out with the most number of collaborations.

Top M&As of December 2024

As the industry plunged into the holiday season in December, the last month of the year saw fewer merger and acquisition (M&A) deals compared to November. AbbVie took the top spot with its acquisition of American biotech Nimble Therapeutics for $200 million. The pharma giant will get a hold of Nimble’s oral peptide IL23R inhibitor, which is currently in the preclinical stage. The candidate is being evaluated to treat psoriasis, a chronic, autoimmune condition that causes flaky patches of skin. AbbVie will also gain access to Nimble’s peptide synthesis, screening, and optimization platform, which aids the drug discovery of peptide drugs.

Another buyout in December was U.S.-based Negev Labs’ acquisition of Beckley Psytech’s ophthalmology development program. This comes just as Negev Labs emerges from stealth. The terms of the deal were undisclosed. It has also bagged a vast library of drug candidates from the Alexander Shulgin Research Institute (ASRI) in California via a licensing agreement. That’s not all. As Negev is pioneering development in the field of neuroplastogens, which is a promising class of psychedelic drugs that lacks hallucinogenic effects, it has also collaborated with Hadassah Brain Labs to develop neuroplastogens to address psychiatric and neurological disorders.

Finally, American biotechs Chroma Medicine and Nvelop Therapeutics have joined to form genetic medicines-focused nChroma Bio. They announced that they will bring their epigenetic editing tools together to build its pipeline. The merger will put nChroma’s lead asset CRMA-1001 at the forefront of development. The candidate is designed to target the liver to treat hepatitis B and hepatitis D, both caused by viral infections. The new company has secured $75 million to go ahead with its research and development (R&D) plans.

Biotech deals by approach in December 2024

Biotechs continue antibody-drug conjugates R&D streak

As usual, licensing deals for antibody-drug conjugates make the cut. American pharma Gilead signed an agreement with German company Tubulis to develop ADCs for solid tumors. Tubulis secured $20 million upfront, will receive a $30 million option exercise fee, and up to $415 million in milestone payments.

GSK was another player in the ADC space last month. It was granted worldwide rights to Chinese company Duality Bio’s ADC DB-1324 in exchange for $30 million upfront and up to $975 million in milestones. DB-1324 is currently in preclinical development and is being evaluated against a gastrointestinal (GI) cancer target. The deal excludes licensing in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau.

Meanwhile, in France, Elevation Oncology and Synaffix have gotten together so that the former can access Synaffix’s ADC technology platform to expand its pipeline. Elevation has expressed interest in the candidate EO-1022, which is directed against HER3. Synaffix is expected to nab up to $368 million in upfront and milestone payments.

Antibody drugs: a partnership favorite

Like ADCs that are in demand, antibody drugs never cease to leave the spotlight either. Bristol Myers Squibb and Swedish biotech BioArctic partnered to develop a pyroGlutamate-amyloid-beta (PyroGlu-Aβ) antibody program, which consists of BAN1503 and BAN2803, for Alzheimer’s disease. PyroGlu-Aβ is highly prone to aggregate and cause the cognitive symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s disease. BioArctic will cash in $100 million and is eligible to receive up to $1.25 billion in milestone payments.

Another pair of collaborators in the antibody arena are British biotech Scancell and Danish biotech Genmab. The $630 million deal has witnessed Genmab exercise its option to license an anti-glycan monoclonal antibody that was created with the help of Scancell’s antibody platform.

Moreover, American biotechs Nona Biosciences and Kodiak Sciences are committed to eye care. The two announced plans to create antibodies using Nona’s human antibody platform called Harbour Mice. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

A class of antibodies that triumphed in partnership deals last month was T cell engagers. And there was one common denominator – Candid Therapeutics. The American biotech will pay Chinese biopharma EpimAb Biotherapeutics more than a billion dollars in upfront and milestone payments to boost its T-cell engager program. The immunotherapy pipeline will address autoimmune diseases.

Candid also pledged to do the same with Nona Biosciences for $320 million and American biotech Ab Studio for an undisclosed amount. Candid will be able to commercialize the drugs it develops through these licensing deals.

Staying with T cell engagers, French companies Ipsen and Biomunex are now contracted to develop, manufacture and commercialize BMX-502, a bispecific antibody engaging MAIT cells and targeting the tumor antigen GPC3 to destroy cancer cells. Ipsen has obtained global rights to the medicine and will pay up to $610 million to Biomunex in upfront and milestone payments.

Another antibody that was licensed in December 2024 was the inhibitor drug elritercept. Japanese multinational Takeda gained access to U.S.-based Keros Therapeutics’ activin inhibitor to treat anemia associated with certain blood cancers, including myelodysplastic syndromes and myelofibrosis. Elritercept was granted Fast Track designation by the FDA for low- and moderate-risk myelodysplastic syndromes. Keros snagged $200 million upfront for the inhibitor drug.

Also in the cancer therapeutics space, Swiss pharma giant Novartis and American biotech Olema Oncology have forged an alliance. Olema will use Novartis’ targeted cancer therapy ribociclib to conduct a phase 3 trial to evaluate its candidate palazestrant in combination with ribociclib in patients with breast cancer. While the two companies will share the clinical data, Olema maintains global commercial and marketing rights to palazestrant. This comes just as Olema gathered $250 million in an equity private placement.

Another inhibitor drug that was traded last month was SYH2039 for solid tumors. SYH2039 targets a mutation called MTAP deletion, which is present in around 15% of all cancers. China-based CSPC Zhongqi Pharmaceutical Technology handed over the rights of the drug to multinational company BeiGene and will pocket $150 million in upfront and milestone payments.

R&D in small molecules has carried on as well. Japanese company Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation and Massachusetts-based Dewpoint Therapeutics have decided to advance a small molecule condensate modulator targeting TDP-43. This drug seeks to address 97% of the cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a fatal nerve disease. Dewpoint is expected to earn $480 million in upfront, development, and commercial milestone payments.

In the neuroscience department, Novartis and American biotech PTC Therapeutics teamed up to bolster a Huntington’s disease program. The oral small molecule PTC518, which is in a phase 2 trial to test its effectiveness to treat the nerve disease, will be acquired by Novartis. PTC received a billion dollars upfront and can make up to $1.9 billion in milestones.

Further, Novo Nordisk struck a deal with Photys Therapeutics to advance PHosphorylation Inducing Chimeric Small molecules (PHICS Technology) for metabolic diseases. It works by creating a bond between a kinase enzyme and a particular target in order to inhibit its function. Photys is set to receive $186 million in upfront and milestone payments.

December 2024: GSK goes into collaboration mode

In the midst of the various partnership deals that went down last month, there was a serial collaborator. British pharma giant GSK went big with four major licensing agreements. Apart from its role in the ADC fad, it paid Massachusetts-based Rgenta Therapeutics $46 million for the latter’s splice modulators that target RNA for a number of indications, including cancer. Rgenta can also bag up to $500 million in milestones.

GSK was also in cahoots with Relation Therapeutics to focus on discovering targets for fibrotic diseases and osteoarthritis, a chronic joint disease. Relation took home $46 million and can get up to $63 million in collaboration payments as well as $200 million per target in preclinical, development, commercial, and sales milestone payments.

Additionally, it banded together with Danish startup Muna Therapeutics to come up with novel treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. To do so, the two will analyze human brain samples with the help of spatial transcriptomics to identify drug targets. Muna garnered €33.5 million ($35.17 million) upfront and can get up to €140 million ($147 million) in milestones.

Another significant collaborator last month was Novartis. In its third partnership, the Basel-based giant joined hands with U.S.-based BioAge Labs to locate targets responsible for aging-related illnesses. While much is yet to be revealed about the deal, BioAge was awarded up to $20 million upfront and will receive up to $530 million in research, development, and commercial milestones, according to the multi-year agreement.

Meanwhile, Japanese company EA Pharma and Italian biotech Newron Pharmaceuticals signed up to push evenamide through the clinic. Evenamide is a glutamate modulator in phase 3 for schizophrenia. Newron can receive up to €117 million ($122.86 million) in upfront and milestone payments, and will give up the licensing rights of the drug in Japan and other Asian territories over to EA Pharma.

Biopharmas partner to develop GLP-1 agonists and miniproteins

As the GLP1-agonist trend continues, Merck and Chinese company Hansoh Pharma collaborated to advance a preclinical oral small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist. Hansoh will gain $112 million upfront and is eligible to bank up to $1.9 billion in milestone payments, as well as royalties on sales.

Moreover, one partnership over a radiopharmaceutical took place as well. South Korea-based SK Biopharmaceuticals and ProEn Therapeutics aim to advance up to two preclinical candidates in the next two years. SK Biopharmaceuticals will leverage ProEn Therapeutics’ ArtBody platform to develop potential cancer therapies. The financial terms were not disclosed.

And specializing in autoimmune diseases, U.S.-based COUR Pharmaceuticals and Genentech have plotted to develop tolerogenic therapy for autoimmune diseases. Cour is eligible to receive $40 million in upfront and near-term milestone payments and potentially more than $900 million in further milestones.

Finally, an up-and-coming class of therapies called miniproteins piqued the interest of Bristol Myers Squibb. It has partnered with American startup AI Proteins to discover and develop these medicines using the latter’s platform. AI Proteins can gain up to $400 million as part of the deal.