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By PharmaCompass
2026-06-04
Impressions: 348
April and May were tough months, with oil prices rising globally due to the war in the Middle East. Yet, the world of pharmaceuticals continued to witness large M&A deals and collaborations.
A highlight was the slew of deals signed with artificial intelligence firms — Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) signed a strategic agreement with Anthropic to deploy Claude Enterprise across its entire global operations; Eli Lilly signed a DNA editing deal worth up to US$ 2.25 billion with AI-driven firm Profluent Bio; and Merck partnered with Google Cloud to enhance its digital backbone as an AI-enabled enterprise.
The indices continued to inch upwards. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI) increased from 5,819.43 at the end of April to 5,989.81 at the end of May. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF increased from 130.62 to 136.69. The S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index (SPSIBI) increased from 10,262.80 to 10,689.60. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 increased from 7,234.54 to 7,580.06.
Access the Pipeline Prospector Dashboard for May 2026 Newsmakers (Free Excel)
Lilly on acquisition overdrive: buys Kelonia for up to US$ 7 bn, three vaccine makers for US$ 3.8 bn
In April, Lilly acquired clinical-stage biotech, Kelonia Therapeutics, for up to US$ 7 billion, and Ajax Therapeutics for up to US$ 2.3 billion in cash. Privately-held Kelonia is pioneering cancer treatments such as in vivo gene delivery. Ajax’s lead asset, AJ1-11095, is an investigational drug currently in early-stage clinical trials for the treatment of rare blood cancers.
In May, Lilly announced an additional US$ 4.5 billion investment across two of its manufacturing sites in Lebanon, Indiana, bringing its total commitments in this American state to more than US$ 21 billion since 2020. Last week, Lilly announced agreements to acquire three vaccine companies — Curevo Inc, LimmaTech Biologics, and Vaccine Company — in deals worth up to US$ 3.8 billion.
Access the Pipeline Prospector Dashboard for May 2026 Newsmakers (Free Excel)
FDA approves Astra’s new hypertension treatment; okays AbbVie’s rare blood cancer drug
In May, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved AstraZeneca’s Baxfendy (baxdrostat), a first-in-class treatment for hypertension to be used in combination with other antihypertensive medications.
Additionally, FDA granted two new approvals to AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo’s Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) for treating early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer. The drug has now been approved for use before surgery (to shrink tumors) and after surgery (to reduce the risk of recurrence). Enhertu is already approved for treating advanced breast cancer.
The agency approved Arvinas and Pfizer’s Veppanu (vepdegestrant) for the treatment of an advanced type of breast cancer known as estrogen receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative, estrogen receptor 1-mutated advanced or metastatic breast cancer. The agency also approved AbbVie’s Decnupaz (pivekimab sunirine-pvzy) for the treatment of adult patients with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm, an aggressive and ultra-rare blood cancer.
In April, FDA granted accelerated approval to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’ Otarmeni (lunsotogene parvec-cwha) for the treatment of a rare genetic form of hearing loss caused by a faulty gene. The agency also approved Merck’s Idyvnso, a new, two-drug single-tablet regimen of doravirine and islatravir, for treating HIV-1 infections in adults.
Access the Pipeline Prospector Dashboard for May 2026 Newsmakers (Free Excel)
Sun Pharma acquires Organon for ~US$ 11.8 bn; Gilead buys Tubulis for up to US$ 5 bn
April and May saw several big and mid-size M&A deals. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries made the largest overseas acquisition by an Indian drugmaker in April, as it acquired New Jersey-based Organon in an all-cash deal valued at about US$ 11.75 billion, including debt.
Gilead announced the acquisition of Germany-based clinical-stage biotech Tubulis GmbH in early April for up to US$ 5 billion to strengthen its cancer drugs pipeline. With this acquisition, Gilead will gain access to Tubulis’ next-generation antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).
In the first week of May, Rome-based Angelini Pharma announced the acquisition of American rare-disease drug maker Catalyst Pharmaceuticals for €3.5 billion (US$ 4.1 billion). Additionally, Neurocrine Biosciences acquired Soleno Therapeutics for US$ 2.9 billion in cash. The deal gives Neurocrine access to Vykat XR (diazoxide choline), the first drug approved in the US to treat a rare genetic disorder known as hyperphagia. And Italy’s Chiesi Group announced the acquisition of US-listed KalVista Pharmaceuticals in an all-cash deal valued at about US$ 1.9 billion. The acquisition will strengthen Chiesi’s rare diseases strategy.
Access the Pipeline Prospector Dashboard for May 2026 Newsmakers (Free Excel)
China’s Hengrui in up to US$ 15.2 bn deal with BMS, Innovent in oncology tie-up with Pfizer
Last month, China’s Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine struck global collaboration and licensing deals with BMS that include an upfront payment of US$ 600 million and potential milestone payments of up to US$ 15.2 billion. The deal covers four cancer and blood-disease drug candidates from Hengrui, four immunology candidates from BMS and five additional projects the companies will work on together.
Last week, Innovent Biologics and Pfizer entered into a strategic global licensing and collaboration agreement worth up to US$ 10.5 billion to develop 12 early-stage cancer medicines.
In April, Australia’s Telix Pharmaceuticals entered into a collaboration with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals to jointly develop and commercialize next-generation radiopharmaceutical therapies. Telix will receive US$ 40 million upfront and earn up to US$ 2.1 billion in milestone payments and royalties.
Access the Pipeline Prospector Dashboard for May 2026 Newsmakers (Free Excel)
Celcuity’s therapy beats Novartis’ Piqray in breast cancer trial; Moderna’s mRNA flu scores late-stage win
Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine (mRNA-1010) outperformed the standard flu shot in a phase 3 trial, with the mRNA shot performing about 27 percent better.
Merck’s experimental drug sacituzumab tirumotecan, developed in collaboration with China’s Kelun-Biotech, showed positive results in a late-stage trial in certain patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer, a type of uterine cancer.
In April, there was also news that Novo Nordisk’s experimental oral drug etavopivat successfully met two co-primary endpoints in a late-stage trial on adults and adolescents with sickle cell disease, a debilitating, life-threatening disease. And AstraZeneca’s experimental treatment tozorakimab showed benefit in reducing moderate-to-severe exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in a late-stage trial.
Access the Pipeline Prospector Dashboard for May 2026 Newsmakers (Free Excel)
Our view
Despite macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds, pharmaceutical companies have continued to expand through acquisitions, deals, and collaborations. AI is bringing about a structural shift and becoming central to competitive strategy. Overall, the sector is not only weathering global uncertainty, but actively reshaping itself for the next phase of growth.
Pharma & Biotech Newsmakers in May 2026
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