BMS partners BioNTech in US$ 11 bn cancer drug deal; Sanofi to acquire Blueprint Medicines for US$ 9.5 bn

By PharmaCompass

2025-06-05

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The pharmaceutical sector saw several significant deals with major players expanding their portfolios. Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) grabbed headlines with a US$ 11.1 billion partnership with BioNTech to co-develop BNT327, a promising bispecific cancer antibody targeting both PD-L1 and VEGF-A receptors, potentially challenging Merck’s blockbuster Keytruda.

Sanofi announced a US$ 9.5 billion deal to acquire Blueprint Medicines, thereby strengthening its rare disease portfolio, while Astellas secured a US$ 1.5 billion licensing agreement with China’s EvoPoint for XNW27011, a novel antibody-drug conjugate (ADC).

The obesity treatment market saw Eli Lilly join hands with Camurus in a US$ 870 million collaboration for long-acting therapies. Regeneron made two significant moves in this space – it signed a US$ 2 billion licensing deal with China’s Hansoh for a dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist, and it announced promising late-stage trial results for its experimental antibody trevogrumab, as it preserved muscle mass when combined with Wegovy.

In the US, a senior official of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) resigned after the US Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr withdrew a recommendation last week for administering the Covid vaccine to healthy pregnant women and healthy children.

In drug approvals, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the use of Bayer’s Nubeqa. It can now be used on all patients with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC).

In oncology, Jazz Pharmaceuticals and Roche reported positive late-stage results for their small cell lung cancer combination therapy. And Akeso-Summit’s ivonescimab demonstrated a 48 percent reduction in disease progression risk for advanced lung cancer patients.

Bristol Myers Squibb partners BioNTech in US$ 11.1 bn cancer drug deal

Bristol Myers Squibb has entered into a landmark partnership with German biotech firm BioNTech, agreeing to a deal valued at up to US$ 11.1 billion to co-develop and commercialize a promising cancer drug, BNT327.

This collaboration represents one of the largest deals to date for BioNTech, which gained global recognition for its Covid-19 vaccine developed in collaboration with Pfizer. BNT327 is a bispecific engineered antibody capable of targeting two cancer cell receptors simultaneously. It shows potential to outperform Merck’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab), 2024’s best-selling drug with US$ 29.5 billion in sales. BNT327 is undergoing over 20 clinical trials.

Under the terms of the agreement, BMS will make an initial payment of US$ 1.5 billion to BioNTech and commit to an additional US$ 2 billion in non-contingent anniversary payments through 2028. BioNTech could also receive up to US$ 7.6 billion in milestone-based payments.

Sanofi acquires Blueprint Medicines for US$ 9.5 bn to boost rare disease portfolio

Sanofi has announced an agreement to acquire US-based biopharmaceutical company Blueprint Medicines in a deal valued at up to US$ 9.5 billion. This acquisition significantly bolsters Sanofi's portfolio in rare immunological diseases. Blueprint’s flagship drug, Ayvakit (avapritinib), is the only approved treatment for advanced and indolent systemic mastocytosis (a rare condition) in both the US and EU.

Lilly, Camurus in US$ 870 mn obesity deal: Eli Lilly has announced a strategic partnership with Swedish biotech firm Camurus, committing up to US$ 870 million to develop long-acting treatments for obesity and diabetes. This collaboration aims to create therapies that require less frequent dosing.

Astellas inks US$ 1.5 bn deal with China’s EvoPoint for novel ADC: Astellas Pharma has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with China-based biotech EvoPoint Biosciences, committing up to US$ 1.5 billion to co-develop and commercialize XNW27011 — a novel antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting protein CLDN18.2.

CDC official resigns after RFK Jr. withdraws recommendation for Covid vaccine

On May 27, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr had withdrawn a recommendation for administering Covid vaccine to healthy pregnant women and healthy children. Days after this move, pediatric infectious disease expert at the CDC, Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos, resigned. “My career in public health and vaccinology started with a deep-seated desire to help the most vulnerable members of our population, and that is not something I am able to continue doing in this role,” Panagiotakopoulos wrote in an email.

FDA expands approval of Bayer’s Nubeqa; Amgen’s med scores over chemo in lung cancer trial

Bayer’s Nubeqa (darolutamide) has received FDA approval to expand its use to all patients with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC). Nubeqa was approved in 2022 for use in combination with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and the chemotherapy docetaxel to treat patients with mCSPC. The new nod allows Nubeqa to be used along with ADT by those who can’t tolerate chemo.

Amgen med scores over chemo: In a late-stage trial, Amgen’s Imdelltra (tarlatamab) re duced the risk of death by 40 percent compared to chemotherapy for small cell lung cancer patients whose disease had worsened after an initial round of chemo. These results serve as confirmatory evidence to support last year’s accelerated approval granted to Imdelltra by the FDA for use in patients with extensive stage small cell lung cancer whose disease worsened on or after platinum-based chemotherapy.

Jazz, Roche report positive results for small cell lung cancer combination therapy

Jazz Pharmaceuticals and Roche have announced positive results from their late-stage trial, evaluating a combination therapy for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC). The study assessed Jazz’s Zepzelca (lurbinectedin) in combination with Roche's Tecentriq (atezolizumab) as a first-line maintenance treatment following induction therapy with chemo and Tecentriq.

The combination therapy demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in both overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) compared to Tecentriq alone. These findings suggest that adding Zepzelca to the standard maintenance regimen could delay disease progression and extend survival in patients with this aggressive cancer type.

Akeso, Summit’s cancer drug sees late-stage win: Akeso and Summit Therapeutics have announced that their experimental lung cancer drug, ivonescimab, has significantly delayed disease progression in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A late-stage trial demonstrated that ivonescimab, a bispecific antibody, reduced the risk of disease progression by 48 percent in patients with previously treated EGFR-mutated non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Regeneron’s antibody preserves muscle mass when combined with Novo’s Wegovy

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has announced encouraging interim results from its phase 2 trial, revealing that its experimental antibody, trevogrumab, when combined with Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide (Wegovy), significantly preserves muscle mass during weight loss.

Meanwhile, Regeneron announced a licensing deal with Chinese biopharmaceutical company Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group for HS-20094, a dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist currently in late-stage trials. The terms of the agreement include an upfront payment of US$ 80 million to Hansoh, with the potential for up to US$ 1.93 billion in development, regulatory, and sales milestone payments.

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