An update on recent deals
In our first two reports of the year, we noted that most biotechnology CEOs were concerned that, after a difficult and "morose" 2025, their companies faced an uncertain future. At the same time, investors had already identified a shift toward higher-value transactions and expected M&A activity to increase, because several large Pharma companies need to replenish their portfolios and that they have “a tremendous power fire” to finance them.
Jean-Claude Muller
Jean-Claude Muller
By March 31, 2026, Endpoints had already recorded 19 biopharma acquisitions with a combined potential value of $48 billion. Several additional deals also included upfront payments exceeding $5 billion. For comparison, Société Générale bankers had estimated total deal value for all of 2025 at $126 billion.
That momentum has continued. According to our records, 20 additional deals and acquisitions were announced between March 31 and May 15, representing a potential total value of $60 billion, including significant contingent value rights and milestone payments tied to development or regulatory outcomes. Below, we highlight the six largest recent transactions and comment on the most innovative one.
- Neurocrine’s acquisition of Soleno, valued at $2.9 billion
- Gilead’s acquisition of Tubulis, valued at $3.15 billion
- Eli Lilly’s acquisition of Kelonia for $7 billion
- Sun’s acquisition of Organon for $11.75 billion
- Angelini’s acquisition of Catalyst, valued at $4 billion
- The strategic alliance between Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) and Hengrui Pharma valued at $15.2 billion
On May 12, BMS and Hengrui announced a broad partnership covering 13 early-stage programmes across their pipelines. Under the agreement, BMS receives ex-China rights to four Hengrui oncology and haematology assets, with the possibility of adding five jointly discovered drug candidates. In return, Hengrui gains rights to four BMS assets in China, Hong Kong and Macau. What makes this deal particularly noteworthy is not only its size, but also its structure. It allows two large companies, with complementary strengths, to share access to selected assets and combine capabilities across regions to accelerate clinical development. Hengrui Pharma, which has the most extensive development pipeline and discovery engine in China, has already formed previous alliances with GSK, Kailera, Merck, Braveheart Bio and Merck KGaA.
Although the BMS-Hengrui agreement is innovative in its design, the underlying concept is not entirely new. In the late 1980s, Synthelabo (now Sanofi) and Fujisawa struck an arrangement under which Synthelabo would propose several CNS drug candidates each year for the Japanese market, while Fujisawa would offer some of its own candidates for the European market. At the time, it was essentially an asset-swap agreement, and no financial details were disclosed.
The BMS-Hengrui agreement is the latest example of the growing relationship between Chinese biopharmaceutical companies and their European and U.S. counterparts. According to BioPharma Dive, 60 such deals were signed in 2025, and a further 20 have already been announced in 2026.
On a less positive note, we have identified only one recent deal worth more than $1 billion between a European biotechnology company and a large pharmaceutical group: Gilead’s $3.15 billion acquisition of Germany-based Tubulis. Hopefully, the final balance for the year will prove less uneven.
Paris, May 16, 2026.
This document has been prepared by Jean-Claude Muller and is provided for information purposes only. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable but is not warranted to be accurate or complete. The views presented are those of the author at the time of writing and are subject to change. Jean-Claude Muller has no obligation to update these opinions or the information presented.
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