Kezar Life Sciences, Inc.

iStock, master1305 The total of 52 mergers and acquisitions for the first half of 2026 reflects what analysts, industry watchers and executives are saying over and over: M&A is back. Nine deals from Eli Lilly. Three apiece for GSK and Gilead Sciences. It’s safe to say that pharma is back in the game with a busy half that saw more than 50 total M&A transactions. The most acquisitive, Lilly pledged more than $25 billion in the first half, while Gilead commited $14.8 billion and GSK offered up $13.5 billion. Sun Pharma clocked the largest deal of the half with its $12.6 billion buy of women’s health company Organon. AbbVie had the second largest deal with the $10.7 billion buyout of inflammation-focused biotech Apogee Therapeutics. In the first half of 2025, there were around 30 total mergers and acquisitions recorded by BioSpace. The total of 52 for the same period in 2026 represents an uptick that analysts, industry watchers and executives are citing as evidence that M&A is back. And the return of these deals has sent a ripple across the industry. More IPOs are being filed and more up-and-coming biotechs are announcing early-stage fundraising rounds to move their science forward. Merck landed one of biotech’s most talked about buyout targets in March, paying $6.9 billion for Terns Pharmaceuticals . BMO Capital Markets lauded the buyout as “one of the best deals [Merck] has made since its spree began ahead of the Keytruda” loss of exclusivity. Mergers & acquisitions BIO 2026: Forget dual track—biopharma deals are more complex than ever Dual and even triple or quadruple track processes have come roaring back in 2026 thanks to a glut of M&A that has refilled investors’ wallets. Big Pharma is being put on notice that time is critical if they want to acquire. June 25, 2026 · 5 min read · Annalee Armstrong Read more Besides the pharma heavyhitters, the list of transactions was studded by intriguing deals from smaller companies. UCB, for instance, struck twice, buying Candid Therapeutics for $2.2 billion and Neurona Therapeutics for $1.2 billion. Prior to those deals, UCB had not acquired another company since 2020, according to S&P Capital IQ. Forever a highlight of BioSpace ’s quarterly M&A wrap, biotech clean-up artist Kevin Tang struck again in March after taking the helm of Aurinia Pharma. He previously missed out on buying Kezar Life Sciences in October 2024 via his portfolio company Concentra Biosciences,but he now owns Kezar, by way of Aurinia, which paid about $53.9 million . Editor’s note about this analysis: BioSpace collects M&A transaction data using S&P Capital IQ. The analysis includes whole therapeutics company transactions of at least $10 million. Deal values recorded by S&P include debt and other factors and may differ from the value originally announced by the company.

Biogen, Eli Lilly, Merck and Novartis spent more than $20 billion to absorb biotechs with promising or approved drugs; the rare disease space notched approvals for therapies from Denali Therapeutics, Rocket Pharmaceuticals and Biogen; and Wave’s stock lost half its value after its RNA-based obesity candidate failed to impress investors. > Listen on Spotify > Listen on Apple Products > Listen on Amazon Music > Listen on iHeart Biogen, Eli Lilly and Merck spent more than $20 billion in the past week to swallow biotechs with approved products or promising drug candidates—representing three of this year’s four biggest takeovers. First, Merck picked up Terns Pharmaceuticals and its mid-stage leukemia drug for $6.7 billion; for the record, BioSpace called this one back in December. Then, on Tuesday, Lilly and Biogen struck, acquiring Centessa Pharmaceuticals and Apellis Pharmaceuticals respectively. Those big-ticket deals aren’t the only recent transactions, however. Others include Novartis’ up to $2 billion pick up of Excellergy and Gilead’s $2.1 billion purchase of Ouro Medicines. Meanwhile, Kevin Tang—the newly minted CEO of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals—again has his sights set on Kezar Life Sciences , which he previously targeted in 2024. This time, biopharma’s “clean-up” man is offering $50 million for the chronic disease–focused biotech. We’ve spent a lot of time this past year writing about challenges facing rare disease drug developers, but this week, we saw some wins as the FDA approved three new therapies. Last week saw nods for Denali Therapeutics’ Avlayah, the first treatment for Hunter syndrome to target the disease’s neurological complications, and Rocket Pharmaceuticals’ Kresladi for leukocyte adhesion deficiency-I. And it’s been a big week for Biogen, which besides moving on Apellis, won approval of a high-dose formulation of spinal muscular atrophy drug Spinraza and scored a Phase 2 win for lupus candidate litifilimab in cutaneous lupus erythematosus. On the weight loss front, Wave Life Sciences ’ stock was cut in half after its obesity candidate WVE-007 failed to impress investors in a Phase 1 trial. And all eyes are trained on the FDA, which is expected to render a verdict on Lilly’s oral obesity drug orforglipron by April 10. And don’t forget to check out—or sign up for —BioPharm Executive, where we take a deep dive into delayed pharmaceutical launches in Europe and how AI is shaping the biotech IPO landscape.

iStock, AlinaYudina Deal-hungry Big Pharmas, a long-sought biotech prize, an infrequent buyer and one serial biotech rabblerouser highlight a busy quarter in biopharma M&A. Eli Lilly has served up a triple-scoop of deals, while Gilead, GSK and Novartis went for more modest double-stacked cones in the first quarter. In all, biopharma spent about $46.8 billion on acquisitions in the period across 19 deals as M&A activity in the sector picks up . The period ended with a flurry of activity, including deals from Biogen, Eli Lilly and Novartis. All told, companies dropped about $20 billion on deals in the final week of the first period alone. Gilead posted the largest transaction, with nearly $8 billion for cell therapy partner Arcellx in late February. Exactly a month later, Gilead closed the quarter by picking up Ouro Medicines and its T cell engager for $2.18 billion. Merck won perhaps the biggest prize, buying one of biotech’s most exciting targets in Terns Pharmaceuticals for $6.74 billion. The metabolic-turned-cancer immunology biotech has appeared on many analysts’ lists as a compelling company to buy over the years—including BioSpace ’s own. Eli Lilly, flush with cash from its mammoth obesity portfolio, was the most acquisitive, with three deals including Centessa Pharmaceuticals and its narcolepsy drug on the last day of the quarter for $6.3 billion. The Indianapolis-based pharma also added to its inflammatory portfolio with Ventyx Biosciences for $1.2 billion in January, then entered the CAR T space at last with the $2.4 billion takeover of Orna Therapeutics in February. Mergers & acquisitions In Tight Deal Environment, Pharma May Need To Think Big The major pharmas are loaded up with trillions in firepower—but are sticking to mid-cap deals. One expert says it might be time to think outside the box and shake up the industry with some consolidation. March 18, 2026 · 5 min read · Annalee Armstrong Read more Also executing multiple deals were GSK and Novartis. One company that has not been active of late is Biogen, despite many questions from analysts over the past several years on how and when it might deal. Chris Viehbacher and team finally struck on March 31, dropping $5.6 billion for Apellis Pharmaceuticals for two approved drugs and a team experienced in kidney disease. Biotech custodian Kevin Tang also returned to the M&A stage at the end of March after taking over the C-suite at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals. He immediately moved to acquire Kezar Life Sciences , a struggling biotech he tried to buy back in 2024. The deal is valued at $50 million. .responsive-container { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; border: 1px solid #ededed; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Sans-Serif; padding: 20px 20px 10px 20px; } .column-left { flex: 1; max-width: 45%; padding: 20px 20px 10px 20px; } .column-right { flex: 2; padding: 20px 20px 10px 20px; } @media (max-width: 768px) { .column-left, .column-right { max-width: 100%; flex: 100%; padding: 10px 0; } } Subscribe to BioPharm Executive! Market insights, trending business and policy stories for biopharma leaders hbspt.forms.create({ region: "na1", portalId: "4413123", formId: "7c139b3c-ff0b-44e0-bffe-f449801dca59", onFormSubmitted: function($form, data) { window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; window.dataLayer.push({ 'event': 'GTMevent', 'event_name': 'newsletter_sign_up' }); } });