M&A, licensing, partnerships and financings: upfronts, milestones and pricing logic.
Johnson & Johnson is nearing a deal to sell DePuy Synthes, its hips-and-knees business, to Apollo Equity Management for about $20 billion. Bloomberg reports that J&J views the orthopedics unit as a non-core asset and the transaction is moving forward.
Why it matters: Major divestiture of a large orthopedics unit reported by Bloomberg.
GE HealthCare is close to acquiring Sofie Biosciences, a radiopharmaceutical developer, for about $1 billion, the Financial Times reports. Sofie Biosciences develops radioactive tracers and chemicals used in imaging. Neither company has officially confirmed the deal.
Why it matters: Financial Times report of a near-$1 billion acquisition talks in radiopharmaceuticals.
Solstice Oncology has launched with a $225 million series A led by RA Capital Management, with Canaan Partners and Forbion also investing, to develop its Fc-enhanced, shorter-acting CTLA-4 antibody porustobart (HBM4003), for which it holds ex-China rights. The NewCo will test the antibody in the neoadjuvant setting to see whether giving it before surgery improves responses without toxicity delaying tumor removal. CEO Caroline Loew said the round closed at the time of the licensing deal.
Why it matters: Large series A funds a next-generation CTLA-4 antibody moving into the neoadjuvant setting under a new company.
BrainChild Bio Inc. of Seattle and Cambridge, Mass., raised $116 million in series A financing backed by Seattle Children's Research Institute and WRF Capital, with an undisclosed family fund leading. The company delivers CAR T cells directly into the cerebrospinal fluid rather than the bloodstream, aiming to allow repeat dosing for CNS cancers while avoiding systemic toxicities seen in other CAR T programs. Targets include B7-H3, EGFR and IL-13RA2.
Why it matters: New financing backs a repeat-dose intrathecal CAR T approach for CNS cancers.
Kura Oncology is spinning off its menin inhibitor programme into a new company, Caspian Therapeutics, which launches with $50 million in financing led by BVF Partners and joined by Eli Lilly. Animal studies of Kura's menin-targeting leukemia therapy showed the approach also helped control blood sugar, so Caspian will develop menin inhibitors for diabetes and other cardiometabolic diseases, taking its lead small molecule into an early-phase diabetes trial and backing a second candidate. Kura retains about 50% ownership, Kura CEO Troy Wilson becomes executive chair, and Robert Spencer was named to lead Caspian.
Why it matters: A leukemia-derived menin inhibitor programme enters diabetes via a $50 million spinout with Eli Lilly involvement.
Neuroscience company Encoded Therapeutics has closed a $275 million series F round with participation from GV and other investors. The funds will advance its Dravet syndrome drug candidate and expand in-house gene therapy manufacturing capacity.
Why it matters: Large financing round for a clinical-stage gene therapy company.
GSK plc is paying $110 million up front for most global rights to HMPL-A830, a dual-targeted oncology therapy from Hutchmed China that links a KRAS inhibitor payload to an anti-EGFR antibody. HMPL-A830 is the first deal from Hutchmed's Antibody-Targeted Therapy Conjugate (ATTC) platform, which has also produced two PI3K-payload programs now in Phase I testing. The same report also covers Alteogen's delivery-tech deal with Novartis and Menarini's local in-licensing of Gan & Lee's obesity program.
Why it matters: First licensing deal from Hutchmed's ATTC platform gives GSK most global rights to a KRAS-antibody conjugate.
The FDA on August 25, 2026 approved Ziihera (zanidatamab-hrii) for first-line unresectable locally advanced or metastatic HER2-positive gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma: IHC 3+ and IHC 2+/ISH+ patients can receive it with tislelizumab plus chemotherapy, and IHC 3+ patients with chemotherapy alone. Under the BeOne Medicines collaboration, Zymeworks has received $81 million, with up to $144 million in further milestones and tiered royalties of up to 19.5%. The approval triggers the structure set up on March 2, 2026, when Zymeworks BC moved 30% of future Ziihera royalties into Zymeworks Royalty Limited Partnership, which borrowed $250 million in non-recourse notes from Royalty Pharma secured solely on those royalties.
Why it matters: FDA approval of a bispecific antibody in first-line gastric cancer activates milestone payments and a $250 million royalty-backed financing.
BrainChild Bio has completed a $116 million series A round to advance its CAR-T cell therapy for pediatric brain tumors into pivotal trials. The company was spun out of Seattle Children's Hospital and focuses on developing cell therapies for deadly childhood brain tumors.
Why it matters: A large series A for CAR-T in pediatric brain tumors, comparable with Seattle Children's early clinical data and similar pediatric cell therapy programs, helps gauge the pace of further development.
GSK has licensed global rights outside Greater China to HMPL-A830, a Hutchison China MediTech candidate that has not yet entered human trials, in a deal worth up to $1.295 billion with an upfront payment of $110 million. The agreement was signed on September 3, 2026. The asset belongs to Hutchison's ATTC class, which builds on its antibody-drug conjugate work.
Why it matters: A Big Pharma deal of this size for a preclinical candidate signals demand for the ATTC modality beyond ADCs.
Italy's Menarini has signed its first obesity licensing deal with Beijing-based Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals for bofanglutide, a twice-monthly GLP-1R agonist whose efficacy data were competitive with Zepbound and Wegovy. The agreement is Gan & Lee's first major out-licensing deal to a Western biopharma from its metabolic-disease-focused innovative pipeline. Further deal terms and development steps were not disclosed.
Why it matters: First big cross-border out-licensing deal by Gan & Lee and Menarini's entry into obesity with a twice-monthly GLP-1R agonist.
Superluminal Medicines has raised a $60 million series B round to support its first drug candidate's move into clinical testing. BVF Partners led the crossover syndicate, with Deep Track Capital and Perceptive Advisors joining as new investors and RA Capital Management, the seed and series A leader, participating. The funding is intended to carry the company's lead candidate into the clinic.
Why it matters: Series B financing funds a first-time clinical entrant's lead candidate.
Hutchison MediPharma has granted GSK an exclusive licence for HMPL-A830, a first-in-class antibody-targeted conjugate and the third candidate from its in-house ATTC platform, covering worldwide rights outside Greater China. Hutchison MediPharma receives $110 million upfront and is eligible for development, regulatory and commercialisation milestone payments of up to $1.295 billion, plus royalties on net sales. This is the platform's first candidate licensed to a global partner; next steps are GSK's development and commercialisation outside Greater China.
Why it matters: Large oncology out-licensing deal shows Chinese biotech assets attracting global pharma partnerships.
Menarini Group will pay Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals €62 million ($72 million) up front under a deal worth up to $771 million to register and commercialize Gan & Lee's GLP-1 bofanglutide in Europe. The Italian company takes the Chinese insulin maker's drug to the European market. Registration and commercialization work under the collaboration follows.
Why it matters: Menarini pays Gan & Lee up to $771 million to bring its GLP-1 bofanglutide to Europe.
Medtronic has made a strategic investment of about $700 million in Cornerstone Robotics and acquired rights to distribute the Sentire laparoscopic surgical robot in certain approved markets outside the United States. Medtronic will sell Sentire alongside its Hugo robot-assisted surgery system as a complementary dual-platform offering within its connected surgery ecosystem. The deal pairs Cornerstone's product with Medtronic's capital and channel access.
Why it matters: Large medtech investment links a Chinese surgical robot maker to Medtronic's global distribution.
GSK has licensed Hutchmed's preclinical KRAS-EGFR antibody conjugate HMPL-A830, paying $110 million upfront in a deal worth up to $1.295 billion, excluding Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. The candidate delivers a KRAS inhibitor to EGFR-expressing tumors and is slated to enter trials later this year, initially in colorectal, pancreatic and lung cancer. Hutchmed will run Phase 1 trials, after which GSK takes over R&D and commercialization outside select Asian territories.
Why it matters: GSK is paying up to $1.295 billion for a preclinical first-in-class KRAS-EGFR candidate, a notable early-stage oncology licensing deal.
Simcere Biotech's innovation platform Simcere Zaiming granted Roche exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize SIM0660, a self-developed CD79a/CD19/CD3 trispecific antibody built on its TCE multispecific antibody platform. Simcere Zaiming receives $75 million upfront, with total potential deal value of up to $1.53 billion plus tiered double-digit royalties on future global sales. Roche will take the molecule forward globally.
Why it matters: Large out-licensing deal showing a Chinese biotech monetizing a first-in-class TCE asset.
Simcere Zaiming, the oncology innovation unit of Simcere Pharmaceutical, has granted Roche exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize SIM0660, a CD79a/CD19/CD3 trispecific antibody. Under the September 1 license deal, Simcere Zaiming is eligible for total payments of up to $1.53 billion, including $75 million upfront.
Why it matters: Large oncology licensing deal linking a Chinese biotech's trispecific antibody with Roche's global development reach.
Medtronic will make a strategic investment of about $700 million in surgical robotics firm Cornerstone Robotics under a new partnership. Medtronic also gains rights to distribute Cornerstone's Sentire laparoscopic surgical robot in certain approved markets outside the United States. Gaorong Capital, which co-led the company's 2019 angel round, has continued to invest in later funding rounds.
Why it matters: A large medtech investment gives Cornerstone Robotics a global distribution channel for its surgical robot.
Simcere Zaiming, the oncology unit of Simcere Pharmaceutical Group (2096.HK), has granted Roche exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize SIM0660, a CD79a/CD19/CD3 trispecific antibody for B-cell-related diseases including B-cell lymphoma and B-cell-mediated autoimmune disease. The deal is worth up to $1.53 billion, including $75 million upfront, plus tiered royalties up to low double digits on future net sales. Roche will advance global clinical development of the candidate.
Why it matters: Large out-licensing deal by a Chinese biotech with Roche for a first-in-class trispecific antibody.
