Zealand inks $1.2B Generate pact to add multispecific proteins to obesity pipeline (October 8, 2026) by Nick Paul Taylor Zealand Pharma is paying Generate Biomedicines $30 million upfront to collaborate on multispecific drug candidates for metabolic diseases. Milestones could bring the total value of the deal above $1 billion. Obesity and other metabolic diseases form the backbone of Zealand’s pipeline,

Roche inks drug discovery deal with Chinese biotech, focused on molecular glue medicines Deal between Swiss company, Defand Therapeutics could signal shift in global development (October 8, 2026) by Allison DeAngelis Roche is digging deeper into the biotech industry in China, striking a new partnership with a drug startup there. But rather than licensing the startup’s clinical-stage medicines, Roche is

Novo agrees $2.6B deal for preclinical GLP-1/GIP drug from in-demand Hengrui (September 29, 2026 ) by James Waldron Novo’s ongoing attempts to rejuvenate its pipeline have seen the Big Pharma turn to one of the most in-demand drug developers in China. The Danish drugmaker is paying $300 million upfront to China’s Hengrui Pharma for a preclinical GLP-1/GIP dual receptor agonist.

Lilly to acquire Merida Biosciences to advance treatments for serious autoimmune and allergic diseases (August 31, 2026 ) by Eli Lilly and Company Merida’s antibody-engineering platform is designed to enable precise, durable removal of disease-causing antibodies, while preserving normal immune function Initial Phase 1 data show MER511 achieved robust reductions in pathogenic thyroid-stimulating antibodies with a favorable initial safety profile

Colossal AI spinoff hits $3.8 billion valuation, targets aging with first model (August 20, 2026 ) by Sasha Richie Astromech just announced new funding to develop artificial intelligence that can predict biological outcomes. Astromech, an artificial intelligence venture gestated at Dallas’ resident sci-fi startup, secured $20 million in new funding at a $3.8 billion valuation, the company announced Thursday. Founded

Roche pens $2.5B pact for Hanmi’s clinical-stage obesity drug targeting less-explored mechanism (August 24, 2026 ) by James Waldron Roche has taken its obesity strategy into uncharted territory via a $190 million upfront payment for a clinical-stage UCN2 (urocortin-2) analog from South Korea’s Hanmi Pharm. UCN2 is a signaling protein that is elevated in people with chronic heart failure. The

Lilly buys AtaiBeckley for $2.8B upfront to challenge J&J for psychedelic mental health market (July 16, 2026 ) by Nick Paul Taylor Eli Lilly has struck a deal to buy AtaiBeckley for $2.8 billion upfront, continuing its takeover spree to move into a psychedelic mental health sector targeted by companies including Johnson & Johnson. AtaiBeckley’s lead candidate is BPL-003, a

Kalohexis is working on peptide therapies, including one for obesity that could offer an alternative approach to the GLP-1s that currently dominate the weight loss space. (July 8, 2026 ) by Tristan Manalac Kalohexis is working on peptide therapies, including one for obesity that could offer an alternative approach to the GLP-1s that currently dominate the weight loss space. Kalohexis,

Insilico Medicine And SK Biopharmaceuticals Achieved AI-powered Drug Discovery Collaboration Worth Up to 2.5 Billion for Neuroimmune Disorders (June 22, 2026) by Insilico Medicine CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Insilico Medicine (“Insilico”, 3696.HK), a clinical-stage generative artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery company, and SK Biopharmaceuticals, a Korean-based company leads the way in biotech innovation with groundbreaking drug research,

Merck adds to biopharma’s AI agenda with up to $510M+ Protillion pact (June 17, 2026) by Tristan Manalac Merck will use Protillion Biosciences’ tech to design biologic therapies for therapies across undisclosed indications. The next stop on biopharma’s AI train is Merck, which is bringing on California’s Protillion Biosciences to combine large-scale data generation and AI design to advance a