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The month of March saw biopharmas accelerate drug development in the fields of small molecules, bispecific antibodies, and protein therapeutics, among others. AstraZeneca and Novo Nordisk were the top collaborators, and there were more mergers and acquisitions (M&A) compared to February. In this article, we take a look at the top biotech and pharma deals of March 2025.
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Top biotech M&As of March 2025
Among the top mergers and acquisitions (M&As) last month was AstraZeneca’s billion-dollar buyout of Belgian biotech EsoBiotec. The startup has come up with its EsoBiotec Engineered NanoBody Lentiviral (ENaBL) platform, which provokes the immune system to attack cancer cells. ENaBL uses lentiviruses to deliver genetic instructions to immune cells, which program them to recognize and destroy tumor cells for cancer treatment and even autoreactive cells for its potential use in immune-mediated diseases.
American pharma giant Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) kicked off the month with its $286 million acquisition of U.S.-based 2seventy bio. BMS will begin a tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of 2seventy bio at a price of $5.00 per share in an all-cash transaction, according to a press release. The two have cooperated together over the years to develop and commercialize Abecma, a CAR-T cell therapy for multiple myeloma, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat multiple myeloma in 2021.
Meanwhile, French pharmaceutical company Sanofi has acquired California-based antibody developer Dren Bio’s bispecific myeloid cell engager. The clinical candidate DR-0201 is an antibody that targets and engages specific myeloid cells – immune cells that originate in the bone marrow – to induce deep B-cell depletion via targeted phagocytosis – a mechanism to remove pathogens and cell debris. It has shown B-cell depletion in studies. In exchange for DR-0201, Sanofi will pay $600 million upfront to Dren and up to $1.3 billion in development and launch milestones.
Over in India, Sun Pharma has bought American biotech Checkpoint Therapeutics for upfront and milestone payments worth up to $355 million. As the name suggests, Checkpoint Therapeutics develops checkpoint inhibitors among other antibodies. Sun Pharma will nab Checkpoint’s anti-PD-L1 antibody cosibelimab, known by its brand name Unloxcyt, and approved by the FDA in December to treat advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer that starts in squamous cells.
Staying in Asia, Japanese biotech Taiho Pharmaceutical acquired Swiss startup Araris Biotech two weeks ago. Araris is expected to gain up to $1.14 billion in upfront and milestone payments. Araris, a spin-off company from the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and ETH Zurich in Switzerland, is focused on creating antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). These ADCs will add to its line of cancer therapeutics, which includes small molecules.
Biotech deals by approach in March 2025
Big pharmas set sights on protein therapies
One of the notable licensing agreements that took place last month was between American giant AbbVie and Danish biotech Gubra. The deal was over GUB014295, a long-acting amylin analog for the treatment of obesity. It acts as an agonist that activates amylin – satiety hormone – and calcitonin receptors to turn on signals in the brain that help with appetite suppression and the reduction of food intake. This marks AbbVie’s first step into the burgeoning field of obesity therapeutics. Gubra will snag $350 million upfront and will be eligible to receive up to $1.875 billion in development, commercial, and sales milestone payments.
Research and development (R&D) in obesity therapeutics has been on a high for a couple of years now. Another amylin analog obesity drug was licensed between Swiss pharma giant Roche and Danish peptide company Zealand Pharma last month. The candidate in question is petrelintide, which the two companies will co-develop and co-commercialize with combination therapies, such as Roche’s GLP-1/GIP receptor dual agonist CT-388. Zealand will haul in $1.65 billion upfront and can snap up $1.2 billion in development milestones – linked to petrelintide entering phase 3 trials – as well as $2.4 billion in sales-based milestones.
Apart from AstraZeneca’s billion-dollar buyout of the biotech company EsoBiotec, it took part in a few licensing deals in March 2025. One of the pacts was with China-based Syneron Bio in an effort to develop macrocyclic peptides, which are peptides – short chains of amino acids, which are building blocks of proteins – that curl into ring-like structures. They will be designed to potentially treat chronic diseases, including rare, autoimmune, and metabolic diseases. Syneron will receive $75 million in upfront and near-term payments as well as development and commercial milestones worth up to $3.4 billion.
AstraZeneca also came together with South Korean company Alteogen to develop the latter’s hyaluronidase utilizing Hybrozyme platform technology ALT-B4. The platform allows for the subcutaneous administration of drugs – between skin and muscle for slow and sustained absorption – that are typically given as an intravenous (IV) infusion. AstraZeneca will acquire the worldwide rights to use ALT-B4 to develop and commercialize formulations of several undisclosed cancer drugs, whereas Alteogen will be responsible for the clinical and commercial supply of the technology to AstraZeneca. The financial terms were undisclosed.
Meanwhile, Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk and Massachusetts-based startup Gensaic have gotten entangled with protein therapies. With the help of Gensaic’s artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled protein design technology and Novo Nordisk’s therapeutic expertise, the collaboration aims to birth drug candidates for heart and metabolic diseases. Gensaic is eligible to receive up to $354 million in upfront payments, development, and commercial milestones.
Small molecules: a biotech deal classic
The biggest small molecules deal in March 2025 was signed by pharma giant Merck and Chinese biotech company Hengrui Pharma. The contract is over the latter’s oral lipoprotein(a) inhibitor, which is currently being evaluated in a phase 2 trial in China. Lipoprotein(a) is a type of protein that carries cholesterol, fats, and proteins in the blood, and when they accumulate, they form plaques similar to low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Inhibitor drugs are designed to prevent these plaques from forming and decrease the risk of heart disease. Merck will pay Hengrui $200 million upfront and up to $1.77 billion in milestone payments. This comes following Merck’s deal with Canadian biotech Epitopea to identify tumor-specific antigens in February.
Additionally, Novo Nordisk and American biotech Lexicon have united to develop the small molecule LX9851, an oral non-incretin drug candidate for obesity and other metabolic disorders. Novo will pay up to $1 billion in upfront and milestone payments to attain an exclusive, worldwide license to develop, manufacture, and commercialize the drug, which is being evaluated as a stand-alone therapy and in combination with GLP-1 agonists.
Swiss multinational company Novartis and Japanese pharmaceutical Kyorin have also tied the knot to advance a small molecule. The candidate KRP-M223 is an antagonist of the G protein-coupled receptor MRGPRX2. The receptor activates mast cells, and this occurs in diseases like chronic spontaneous urticaria, a condition characterized by itchy hives – which KRP-M223 aims to treat. Novartis has nabbed an exclusive worldwide license to develop, manufacture, and commercialize the preclinical candidate. Kyorin retains an option to commercialize in Japan and manufacture the product for the Japanese market. Kyorin has landed $55 million as well as up to $777.5 million in milestone payments.
Moreover, Massachusetts-based Black Diamond Therapeutics and French biotech Servier have come together to develop the targeted small molecule BDTX-4933 for cancer. The phase 1 candidate targets RAS mutations and RAF alterations in solid tumors. The American biotech will bag $70 million upfront and is eligible to receive up to $710 million in milestone payments.
Biotech deals in March 2025: bispecific antibodies in the limelight
Recurring dealmaker AstraZeneca has also collaborated with Chinese biotech Harbour BioMed to gain an option to license multiple programs derived from the latter’s Harbour Mice fully human antibody technology platform. The platform creates heavy chain antibodies, around half the size of a typical IgG, the most common type of antibody. AstraZeneca will pay $175 million in upfront and near-term payments and is expected to shell out up to $4.4 billion in development and commercial milestone payments. The British pharma giant will get a hold of two preclinical immunology programs and can nominate further targets for the Chinese biotech to discover multi-specific antibodies.
Similarly, Swiss pharma player Roche is collaborating with British biotech Oxford BioTherapeutics to discover potentially first-in-class antibody-based therapeutics to treat cancer. The drug targets will be identified via Oxford’s OGAP-Verify discovery platform, and Roche will drive development and commercialization of the therapies. Oxford will secure $36 million upfront and potentially more than a billion dollars in milestone payments.
Japanese pharmas pull RNA medicines
Japanese company Ono Pharmaceutical has partnered with California-based Ionis Pharmaceuticals for the former to gain exclusive global rights to develop and commercialize sapablursen, an antisense oligonucleotide that targets RNA. The phase 2 drug is designed to regulate iron levels to treat polycythemia vera, a rare blood cancer. Ionis will obtain $280 million upfront and up to $660 million in development, regulatory, and sales milestones.
Global Japanese pharma Daiichi Sankyo and American startup Nosis Biosciences have inked a deal leveraging Nosis’ Connexa platform, an AI-based drug design and delivery system, to come up with RNA medicines to treat chronic diseases. The financial terms of the deal were not revealed.
GLP-1 drugs and drug discovery of interest in March 2025
Apart from Novo’s link up with Gensaic and Lexicon, it has also combined efforts with China-based United Biotechnology in an exclusive license agreement for UBT251, a triple agonist of GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon receptors, in early-stage clinical trials for the treatment of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other diseases. Novo will grab worldwide rights – excluding mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan – to develop, manufacture, and commercialize the drug candidate. United stands to receive $200 million upfront and up to $1.8 billion in potential milestone payments.
Meanwhile, German pharma giant Boehringer Ingelheim and Sweden-based Salipro Biotech have joined forces. They will be developing therapies that target G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), ion channels, transporters, and other membrane proteins in therapeutic areas such as mental health and metabolic diseases. Boehringer will be able to leverage Salipro’s platform technology, which stabilizes membrane proteins in their native forms to use in drug discovery programs. The financial terms were not revealed.
Furthermore, AI-enabled British healthcare company Hologen AI and American biotech MeiraGTx are now working together to boost the phase 3 trials of the latter’s AAV-GAD program for Parkinson’s disease. MeiraGTx will bank $200 million upfront. The two will form a joint venture, Hologen Neuro AI, for which Hologen will spend $230 million.
Finally, German AI company Partex and American biopharma Fortress Biotech have vowed to employ AI to help identify therapeutic compounds. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
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