2021 Q1 Top 5 Biopharmaceutical Companies M&A Transactions

In 2021, the value and number of M&A transactions in the pharmaceutical industry will be significantly reduced compared to previous years.

From 2021 to the present, a total of 26 biopharma mergers and acquisitions have taken place globally, among which the Top 5 are from Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Horizon Therapeutics, Amgen, Merck and Sanofi; 3 of these transactions are mainly for autoimmunity.

No.

$1.

On January 11, Sanofi announced the acquisition of Kymab for US$1.

OX40L targeted drugs can prevent the proliferation of effector T cells and drive the expansion of regulatory T cells to achieve therapeutic effects on autoimmune diseases and inflammatory diseases.

KY1005 Clinical Trial Card (Insight)

From Insight database (http://db.

In addition to KY1005, Sanofi will also obtain the anti-ICOS antibody KY1044 in this acquisition.

No.

$1.

On February 25, 2021, Merck announced that it would acquire Pandion at a price of US$60 per share, with a total transaction value of US$1.

Pandion’s main product is an IL-2 fusion protein PT101.

In the field of IL-2, Amgen, Eli Lilly, and Roche have already worked hard before, and drugs with the same target are already in clinical development.

No.

Two transactions have been completed in 2021, totaling US$2.

In March 2021, Amgen reached two transactions in succession.
First, it acquired Five Prime Therapeutics for US$1.
9 billion and obtained the anti-FGFR2b antibody drug bemarituzumab; then, it acquired Rodeo Therapeutics with a US$55 million advance payment + US$666 million milestone payment to expand inflammation Sexual disease pipeline.

The main product of Five Prime is the anti-FGFR2b antibody bemarituzumab.
Studies have shown that FGFR2b is overexpressed in about 30% of HER2-negative gastric cancers.
At present, bemarituzumab has shown great therapeutic potential in phase II clinical trials for gastric cancer and gastroesophageal junction cancer (GEJ); in clinical trials of combined chemotherapy for first-line treatment, patients’ PFS and OS have also shown Significantly increased.

Rodeo Therapeutic is a biopharmaceutical company in the pre-clinical development stage, established in 2017.
The company is committed to the development of small molecule drugs that promote tissue regeneration and repair.
It currently owns a prostaglandin biomodulator 15-prostaglandin dehydrogenase (15-PDGH).
Preclinical studies have shown that 15-PDGH can prevent colitis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and accelerate the reconstitution of hematopoietic stem cells after bone marrow transplantation.

No.
2 Horizon

Acquired Viela Bio, a spin-off company of AZ for $3 billion

On February 1, 2021, Horizon announced the acquisition of Viela Bio for US$3 billion.
In this acquisition, Horizon has acquired a series of clinical candidates for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, as well as the approved optic neuromyelitis spectrum disease treatment drug Uplizna.

Viela Bio is a biopharmaceutical company separated from AstraZeneca in early 2018.
It has 6 drug candidates in the pipeline, including the CD19 monoclonal antibody Inebilizumab (brand name Uplizna®), which was approved by the FDA in June last year, for the treatment of rare autoimmunity Disease Neuromyelitis Opticus Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD).
The drug is still in clinical development for multiple indications including myasthenia gravis, and the Chinese rights have been previously authorized to Hausen.

In addition to Uplizna, Viela Bio also has drug candidates CD40L fusion protein VIB4920 and ILT7 monoclonal antibody VIB7734.

VIB4920 is a fusion protein product that can bind to CD40L on the surface of activated T cells, thereby preventing it from interacting with B cells expressing CD40 and preventing B cells from dividing into plasma cells and memory B cells.
The drug can also inhibit the stimulation of dendritic cells and monocytes by T cells, thereby reducing the production of pro-inflammatory mediators.

VIB7734 is a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting ILT7.
ILT7 is specifically expressed on the surface of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), which are important innate immune cells that secrete pro-inflammatory factors.
VIB7734 targets and binds to ILT7 to deplete pDCs and reduce the production of inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α and IL-6, thereby treating autoimmune diseases.

No.
1 Jazz Pharmaceuticals 

Acquired GW, a cannabinoid drug development company, for $7.
2 billion

On February 3, 2021, Jazz Pharmaceuticals announced that it would acquire GW at a price of 220 US dollars per share, for a total price of 7.
2 billion US dollars.
This is the largest transaction involved so far in 2021.

GW focuses on neurological diseases and has a competitive cannabinoid drug pipeline covering the entire process of drug discovery, development, production and commercialization.
Its main product is Epidiolex, which is used for rare diseases characterized by severe early-onset epilepsy, including Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), Dravet syndrome and tuberous sclerosis (TSC) related seizures.

Epidiolex has grown strongly after being approved by the FDA in June 2018.
According to GW's annual report, even in the face of COVID-19 adverse factors, the drug will still achieve 70% sales growth in 2020, with sales of US$144 million in Q4 2020 and US$510 million for the whole year.

In addition, GW also has a number of clinical stage products, including Sativex® (nabiximol) in phase III clinical trials, intended to treat multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury-related spasms; and intended to treat autism and schizophrenia Early candidates for cannabinoids.