Top biotech deals of January 2025

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The year 2025 kicked off in full swing with several biotech deals in the industry. While recurring collaborators such as GSK and Eli Lilly shopped around for therapeutic programs, newly-launched biotechs also stood out among collaborations last month. As usual, small molecules, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), and monoclonal antibodies were industry favorites.

Top biotech M&As of January 2025

American pharma giant Johnson & Johnson made quite the splash when it snapped up American biotech Intra-Cellular Therapies for a whopping $14.6 billion. The deal gives Johnson & Johnson the rights to Caplyta, the first and only U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved treatment for depression in patients with bipolar I and bipolar II disorder as an adjunctive and monotherapy. It will also take charge of Intra-Cellular’s pipeline of clinical and preclinical candidates to treat neurological disorders.

Meanwhile, Eli Lilly bought Scorpion Therapeutics’ PI3Kα inhibitor program for up to $2.5 billion in upfront and milestone payments. The program mainly comprises STX-478, a once-daily oral PI3Kα inhibitor currently being evaluated in a phase 1/2 clinical trial for breast cancer and other advanced solid tumors.

Another billion-dollar acquisition that took place last month was GSK’s buyout of cancer therapeutics company IDRx. Through the deal, GSK has nabbed the latter’s lead asset, IDRX-42, a KIT tyrosine kinase inhibitor for gastrointestinal stromal tumor, a rare cancer that develops in the digestive tract.

Biotech deals by approach in January 2025

The usual suspect: small molecules

It looks like American giant Gilead has been on a partnering streak since it forged a deal with German company Tubulis to develop drugs for solid tumors in December. Now, it has collaborated with Leo Pharma for Leo’s small molecule oral STAT6 program, which has the potential to treat patients with inflammatory diseases. The deal will see the Danish biotech secure $250 million upfront and up to $1.7 billion in total payments.

Another American collaborator is 1cBio, which signed an agreement to get a hold of Netherlands-based Alesta Therapeutics’s small molecule OC-1 – expected to hit the clinic later this year. The drug is currently advancing through GLP toxicology studies to eventually address hypophosphatasia, a rare genetic disorder that affects the development of bones and teeth. 1cBio will receive milestone payments, including an equity investment and tiered royalties but further details were undisclosed.

Moreover, pharma giant Pfizer is keen on accelerating the discovery of precision medicines. Pfizer has tasked U.S.-based Atavistik Bio with using its platform to identify and validate novel allosteric binders against two undisclosed cancer targets. The financial terms of the deal were not revealed.

In a similar vein, in January 2025, French biotech Iktos and Germany-based Cube Biotech have joined forces to discover small molecule drugs that target the amylin receptor, which regulates appetite and satiety, making it a compelling target for obesity. This partnership will make use of Iktos’ expertise in artificial intelligence and Cube’s protein technologies. The financial terms were not disclosed.

And Danish multinational company Novo Nordisk, which rose to fame after the launch of its diabetes drug Ozempic, has united with U.S.-based IMMvention Therapeutix to get a hold of the latter’s BACH1 inhibitors. BACH1 is thought to be a key regulator of cellular responses, oxidative stress, and inflammation in chronic diseases like sickle cell disease, making it a promising therapeutic target.

ADCs: a biotech partnership favorite in January 2025

ADCs are in much demand. Biotechs from across the globe are developing this class of drugs to treat cancer.

Chinese biotech Innovent and Swiss multinational company Roche to advance the development of IBI3009, a DLL3-targeted ADC candidate. The candidate has already secured Investigational New Drug (IND) IND status in Australia, China, and the U.S., with the first patient for the phase 1 study dosed in December. This collaboration aims to expand treatment options for patients with advanced small cell lung cancer. Innovent is set to receive $80 million and eligible to receive up to $1 billion in milestone payments.

Another Chinese biotech in the ADC space is DualityBio, which has inked a deal in January 2025 with U.S.-based Avenzo Therapeutics for the latter to gain an exclusive global license – excluding Greater China – for the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of AVZO-1418/DB-1418, an EGFR/HER3 ADC designed to treat solid tumors. DualityBio bagged $50 million upfront and can pocket up to $1.15 billion in milestone payments.

Meanwhile, Japanese company Chugai Pharmaceutical and Swiss company Araris Biotech are also eyeing the ADC space. Araris will use its linker-conjugation platform to generate ADCs using antibodies against targets discovered by Chugai. As a part of the deal, Araris is eligible to bank around $780 million in milestone payments.

To add to that, pharma giant Boehringer Ingelheim collaborated with Synaffix, a biotech specializing in the development of ADCs. With the help of Synaffix’s ADC technology, which Boehringer has licensed, the German multinational will bolster its own ADC portfolio for cancer therapeutics. Synaffix can snag up to $1.3 billion in milestone payments.

Monoclonal antibody deals in January 2025

Apart from its Scorpion Therapeutics acquisition last month, Eli Lilly announced its partnership with American biotech Scorpion Therapeutic as well. The deal is over MTX-463, a human IgG1 antibody designed to neutralize WISP1-mediated fibrotic signaling in several debilitating diseases. The agreement will help take the candidate into a phase 2 clinical trial for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a chronic lung disease. Mediar stands to pocket $99 million in combined upfront payment and near-term milestones as well as an additional $687 million in milestone payments.

Young startup Climb Bio is climbing up the ranks to grab Beijing Mabworks Biotech’s Fc-engineered anti-APRIL monoclonal antibody CLYM116, and expand its own monoclonal antibody pipeline. The candidate is designed to treat IgA nephropathy – a chronic kidney disease caused by IgA protein buildup – and other B-cell mediated diseases. Climb will have the licensing rights to the drug worldwide, excluding China. Beijing Mabworks received $9 million upfront and is eligible to receive milestone payments.

Beijing Mabworks Biotech isn’t the only Chinese company devoted to monoclonal antibodies. China-based Harbour BioMed and Sichuan Kelun Biotech BioPharmaceutical has given up the licensing rights – excluding Greater China and certain Southeast and West Asian countries – of their candidate HBM9378/SKB378, an anti-thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) monoclonal antibody for the treatment of immune-related diseases, to newly-launched Swiss biotech Windward Bio. The two Chinese companies can obtain up to $970 million upfront and milestone payments.

Bi and trispecific antibodies: a top pick across the globe

American pharma giant AbbVie stated that it would option to license SIM0500, a trispecific antibody that was developed by Simcere Zaiming, a Chinese biotech. SIM0500 is currently in phase 1 clinical trials in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, a type of bone marrow cancer. AbbVie can now develop the drug in China and the U.S., and Simcere Zaiming can earn up to $1.055 billion in milestone payments.

Another American company that is eager to develop bispecific antibodies is recently-launched Prolium Biosciences. It is paying Chinese biotechs InnoCare Pharma and KeyMed Biosciences $520 million in exchange for the development and commercialization rights of ICP-B02 (CM355), a CD20xCD3 bispecific antibody to treat cancer as well as other indications.

Molecular glues: a fast-growing field

AbbVie once again announced a partnership deal, and this time, it’s over molecular glue degraders. It penned an agreement with American biotech Neomorph to develop molecular glue degraders for multiple targets across oncology and immunology, granting the latter up to $1.64 billion in option fees and milestone payments.

Meanwhile, Finnish cancer therapeutics developer Rappta Therapeutics formed a pact with another cancer therapeutics developer SpringWorks Therapeutics in the U.S. to boost the development and commercialization of the former’s lead asset RPT04402, a preclinical candidate that aims to address uterine cancers – cancers that develop in the uterus. Rappta cashed $13 million upfront and can gain milestone payments.

Biopharmas sign deals for proteins, gene therapies, and T cell engager in January 2025

You probably heard of Candid Therapeutics’ partnership spree in December. Well, it hasn’t ended yet. It recently signed a contract with China-based WuXi Biologics to license a preclinical trispecific T-cell Engager discovered by WuXi. Candid plans to complete IND-enabling studies soon and will fork over up to $925 million to WuXi in upfront and milestone payments.

Meanwhile, in Japan, Nippon Shinyaku has sworn to develop two gene therapy candidates licensed from U.S.-based Regenxbio. RGX-121 is designed to treat Hunter syndrome and RGX-111 to treat Hurler syndrome – both genetic disorders. Regenxbio is set to bag $110 million upon closing the deal and can make up to $700 million in milestone payments.

It doesn’t stop there for Nippon Shinyaku. It is taking over the U.S. option and licensing rights of AB2 Bio’s recombinant interleukin-18 binding protein to hyperinflammatory syndrome, a rare, fatal autoimmune disease. AB2 Bio can receive early payments of up to $36 million and can get up to $150 million in milestone payments.

Biotech partnerships: accelerating drug discovery

And in its second alliance in January 2025, Novo Nordisk sealed a deal with American biotech Variant Bio to identify new targets for metabolic diseases with the help of Variant’s drug discovery platform. Variant can reap up to $50 million in upfront and milestone payments.

Finally, serial collaborator Lilly is intent on developing five antibodies to treat the fatal neurological disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), based on British biotech Alchemab Therapeutics’ antibody discovery platform. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.