In case you missed August’s business news, here’s a quick recap of five headlines, including an acquisition, three funding rounds, and a notable company closure.

In case you missed anything while you were away on summer holiday, here’s a recap of six notable deals from July to get you up to speed.

Drug Hunter has sifted through news articles, press releases, financial disclosures, SEC filings, and more to bring you a roundup of 2023’s biggest mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the drug discovery world. Following our open-access industry overview, in the final installment of this four-part series we bring you the biologics-focused deals opening checkbooks in 2023.

In June, we saw several FDA approvals for treatments targeting primary biliary cholangitis and COPD. The industry witnessed multibillion- and multimillion-dollar deals across various therapeutic areas. Advances were made in obesity therapeutics, with novel targets and clinical readouts for GLP-1 agonists and NLRP3 inhibitors. Alkermes and Takeda reported results for OX2R agonists in narcolepsy, while an antimalarial drug showed promise in PCOS. Despite these advancements, there were clinical trial failures for key molecules. Here's a recap of the most notable news highlights from June 2024!

Drug Hunter has sifted through news articles, press releases, financial disclosures, SEC filings, and more to bring you a roundup of 2023’s biggest mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the drug discovery world. In part 3 of this 4-part series, we bring you the top-ranked small molecule-focused deals by value. Covering a range of targets and modalities, this article gives Drug Hunter members in-depth background and analysis of the hottest science opening checkbooks in 2023.

Drug Hunter has sifted through news articles, press releases, financial disclosures, SEC filings, and more to bring you a roundup of 2023’s biggest mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the drug discovery world. Following our open-access industry overview, in part 2 of this 4-part series we bring you the small molecule-focused deals, ranked 11-20 by value. Covering a range of targets and modalities, this article gives Drug Hunter members in-depth background and analysis of the hottest science opening checkbooks in 2023.

Drug Hunter has sifted through news articles, press releases, financial disclosures, SEC filings and more to bring you a roundup of 2023's biggest mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the drug discovery world. In this 4-part series we will give you an open-access overview of the M&A landscape, and then for Drug Hunter members in the coming weeks, we will be providing in-depth coverage and analysis of the small molecule-focused (parts 2 & 3) and biologics-based deals (part 4). This premium content includes background on the targets, chemical/biological matter and clinical data driving these deals.

In May 2024, several significant transactions worth millions and billions of dollars took place to advance next-generation neuroplastogens, KRAS G12C inhibitors, Pompe disease treatments, and molecular glues. We also highlight positive clinical readouts for hot targets such as tetrameric transthyretin (TTR) stabilizers, Hedgehog pathway inhibitors, plasma kallikrein inhibitors, dipeptidyl peptidase 1 (DPP-1) inhibitors, and PCSK9 inhibitors. Here's a recap of the most notable news highlights from May 2024!

In April 2024, there were promising examples of drug repurposing, significant clinical and regulatory milestones for therapies aimed at rare and pediatric diseases, the initiation of a rolling NDA submission for suzetrigine, substantial billion-dollar acquisitions, and positive trial results were reported for both a D1/D5 receptor agonist and a PARP1 inhibitor. However, the industry also had setbacks as demonstrated by the failed clinical trials for an MNK inhibitor and an NMDA receptor modulator. In case you missed anything, here’s a recap of the most notable news highlights from April 2024!

Companies inked notable high-profile transactions in March 2024, including AbbVie's purchase of Landos Biopharma for $137.5M, AstraZeneca's $2.4B acquisition of Fusion Pharmaceuticals, and its subsequent deal to buy Amolyt for up to $1.05B. The FDA approved the first treatment for MASH. In parallel, expectations are high for the approval of Xcovery's ALK inhibitor, ensartinib. Praxis made headlines with PRAX-628, a next-generation oral NaV modulator, which showed anti-seizure efficacy in a Ph. IIa trial. Read below for more details on these and other drug discovery news stories from March 2024

February 2024 was filled with notable scientific achievements and partnerships. Gilead and Novartis inked billion-dollar acquisitions, and Novo Nordisk and NeoMorph agreed to a $1.46B deal to discover molecular glue degraders. Additionally, Vertex introduced a promising new treatment for cystic fibrosis that is potentially superior to Trikafta. Takeda also made strides by advancing their OX2R agonist TAK-861, for treating narcolepsy type 1, into Ph. III clinical trials. Read this news roundup for more details on these and other drug discovery news stories that you may have missed from Feb 2024

GDC-1971 is an orally bioavailable allosteric inhibitor of the SHP2 phosphatase discovered by Relay Therapeutics, and in clinical development by Genentech both as a monotherapy and in combination with several anticancer therapies. SHP2 inhibitors are being hotly pursued since they may combine with numerous classes of clinically important agents. This article provides a primer on SHP2 as an oncology target, the disclosed molecules in the space, how RLY-1971 was identified, and what the industry is watching for.

Among the small molecule highlights in January’s news were a $100M+ Series A for a PARP1 + PI3Kα-focused company, clinical data with an SLC inhibitor for PKU, a 5-HT2C superagonist for seizures, and a NK1,3 dual antagonist for women’s health. A novel anti-obesity agent from phenotypic screening also made headlines, and the close of a major acquisition may bring relief to the industry. You can read about these notable scientific highlights and more below.

Last December, the pharmaceutical industry witnessed many important updates for clinical molecules, ranging from neurology-based therapies to anti-tumors and radiopharmaceuticals, in addition to the unfortunate discontinuations. In case you missed it, here is a recap of the most notable news updates in the pharma world for December 2023

Several multi-million dollar acquisitions or license agreements took place in November 2023 for hot drug targets, with assets from selective PARP1 inhibitors to GLP1R agonists, and others. This recent news roundup highlights the notable acquisitions by pharma companies for rights to molecules in a range of different indications, with illustrative patent examples for undisclosed structures.

JNT-517 is Jnana Therapeutics' first-in-class cryptic allosteric SLC6A19 inhibitor to treat phenylketonuria (PKU). This is a notable case study employing a novel lead generation approach with photoaffinity probes, leading to a clinical candidate for a historically challenging-to-drug target class. Read the case study to learn how Jnana used their RAPID technology to quickly generate allosteric inhibitor hits, the SAR that led to the discovery of JNT-517, and why the molecule is notable.

Billion-Dollar Molecules: Etavopivat, an Allosteric PKR Kinase Activator for Sickle Cell Disease Abstract. Novo Nordisk has acquired Forma Therapeutics for $1.1B for its primary investigational drug, etavopivat. Etavopivat, a past Molecule of the Month , is an oral, once-daily allosteric activator of pyruvate kinase-R (PKR), which is [...]

Today, ozanimod is a likely megablockbuster drug approved for ulcerative colitis and multiple sclerosis. But before it became the first S1P modulator approved in ulcerative colitis, it received a scary, headline-making “ Refuse to File ” letter from the FDA due to insufficient preclinical characterization of an active metabolite RP112273 [...]

In 2022, Turning Point Therapeutics ($TPTX) was acquired by BMS for a whopping $4.1 billion in cash. In November 2023, the most advanced molecule from Turning Point, repotrectinib, was approved for the treatment of ROS1+ NSCLC. This article explores the science behind repotrectinib, what made Turning Point so valuable, how we know, and what's next. [...]

Abstract. Voxelotor, a gram-daily reversible covalent aldehyde drug, is an approved first-in-class oral drug that prevents the hemoglobin polymerization that drives sickle cell disease. It was one of several agents in clinical trials acquired from Global Blood Therapeutics by Pfizer as part of an over $5 billion buyout. In this article, we [...]

Our team conducted a review of all  the biotech acquisitions of 2021 and distilled it down to the acquisitions of drug discovery-focused biotechs. Navigate the 2021 M&A Series the top overall drug discovery M&A transactions by value (Part 1) the transactions with disclosed upfront payments (Part 2) the most valuable small molecule [...]

Amgen has acquired ChemoCentryx in a deal that includes lead molecule avacopan (Tavneos), a first-in-class orally bioavailable small molecule complement 5a receptor (C5aR) antagonist approved as an adjunctive treatment to standard of care therapy for adults with severe active anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody (ANCA)-associated [...]

Our team conducted a review of all of the biotech mergers and acquisitions of 2021 and distilled it down to the acquisitions of drug discovery-focused biotechs here. There were 10 acquisitions of companies with large molecule drug assets in 2021. Here is a more in-depth look into all of the lead large molecules acquired in 2021, including a [...]

There were 16 acquisitions of companies with small molecule drug assets in 2021 and one merger. Here is a more in-depth look into all of the lead small molecules acquired in 2021, including a review of: The lead molecules in each acquisition and their structural representations where disclosed The mechanism of action, stage, and indication of [...]

Momelotinib, an oral JAK1/2 inhibitor for myelofibrosis, is going to GSK as part of a $1.9 billion acquisition of Sierra Oncology. Anyone that’s ever worked on a kinase program probably looked at this structure and raised their eyebrows. $1.9 billion for another JAK2 inhibitor? It’s probably not super selective either, you might think… and [...]

What were the billion-dollar small molecules in 2021? This article and infographic, which is part 3 of a Premium series covering 2021 drug discovery M&A, covers: The ten largest drug discovery biotech acquisitions by total consideration in 2021 where the acquiree’s lead was a small molecule The lead molecules in each acquisition and their [...]

What were the billion-dollar large molecules in 2021? This article and infographic, which is part 4 of a Premium series covering 2021 drug discovery M&A, covers: The ten largest drug discovery biotech acquisitions by total consideration in 2021 where the acquiree’s lead was a large molecule The lead molecules in each acquisition and their [...]

This article and infographic highlights the drug discovery biotech acquisitions of 2021 where the upfront payment was disclosed, along with the structures of lead molecules in each acquisition where disclosed, mechanism of action, development stage, and indication. You can find Part I here [...]

We reviewed all of the biotech mergers and acquisitions announced in 2021 and did a deep dive on the list of biotech M&A transactions focused on drug discovery. The infographic below, which is part 1 of a Premium series covering 2021 drug discovery M&A, covers: The top ten overall small or large molecule drug acquisitions of 2021 The lead [...]

It’s always nice to see a small molecule making the front page of the news , especially when it’s a Molecule of the Month from last year! Pfizer and ReViral announced an agreement for Pfizer to acquire ReViral for up to $525 million, including milestones (amount upfront not disclosed). ReViral’s lead molecule sisunatovir, is an oral [...]