Hyderabad-based Aurobindo has put the Indian market in its sights with the $22.6 million acquisition of the domestic formulations business of Veritaz, Aurobindo announced Monday. Veritaz boasts around 40 brands in the acute and critical care therapeutic segments and is also headquartered in Hyderabad.
The acquisition will serve as a “launch pad for marketing biosimilar and other products in India,” Aurobindo said in its press release.
Bayer will sell its pest control business to private equity player Cinven for $2.6 billion, the companies announced last week. Reuters noted that Bayer is seeking to pare debt in the wake of its $63 billion Monstanto acquisition in 2018.
Viatris will offload its biosimilars business to Biocon Biologics for up to $3.3 billion in cash and stocks and take an ownership stake in the Indian firm, the Pennsylvania-based company announced Monday.
The investment will give Biocon access to Viatris’ portfolio in diabetes, immunology, oncology and other noncommunicable diseases and to its “robust commercial engine” in Europe and the U.S., a statement from the Bengaluru-based company said.
Meanwhile, Viatris—which launched…
Oxford Biomedica and Homology Medicines last week launched a U.S.-based adeno-associated virus (AAV) CDMO offering clients “innovative manufacturing expertise” in AAV and lentiviral-based cell and gene therapies, according to a joint press release. Under the deal, Oxford Biomedica will pay Massachusetts-based Homology $130 million upfront and pump $50 million more into the joint entity—dubbed Oxford Biomedica Solutions—in exchange for an 80% stake.
In other CDMO news, Fujifilm Diosynth…
Merck KGaA will bolster its mRNA contract manufacturing business with the $780 million acquisition of Exelead, an Indiana-based CDMO, the multinational announced last week.
Exelead’s specialties include lipid nanoparticle-based drug delivery technology used in mRNA-based therapeutics, according to a Merck press release.
Thermo Fisher wrapped up 2021 by buying bioscience reagents specialist PeproTech for $1.9 billion in cash, the Massachusetts-based behemoth announced last week.
The deal gives Thermo Fisher access to New Jersey-based PeproTech’s recombinant proteins portfolio, “an excellent strategic fit within our biosciences business,” per the press release.
Quidel Corporation will buy New Jersey in-vitro diagnostic specialist Ortho Clinical for $6 billion in cash and newly issued shares, per a late December announcement from the San Diego-based company.
Expected to close in the first half of 2022, the deal will allow for “top-tier R&D capabilities, a more diverse product pipeline, and broader geographic footprint,” Quidel’s CEO said in the press release.
Two pharmas closed out 2021 with large M&As.
In the biggest deal of the year, Melbourne-based CSL announced last week an all-cash acquisition of Swiss specialty pharma Vifor worth $11.7 billion. The purchase will help “expand our presence in the rapidly growing nephrology market,” CSL’s CEO said in a press release.
Next, Sanofi struck a billion-dollar deal with California-based Amunix, the French company announced Tuesday. The merger supports “Sanofi’s efforts to accelerate…
Reportedly flush with Covid-19 vaccine revenues, Pfizer will shell out approximately $6.7 billion in cash to buy San Diego-based Arena Pharmaceuticals, the companies announced Monday. The acquisition will boost Pfizer’s Inflammation and Immunology program, the press release said.
Pfizer will also invest $68.5 million to build a gene therapy manufacturing facility in North Carolina, the New York-headquartered company announced Wednesday.
Novo Nordisk will swallow up Massachusetts-based drugmaker Dicerna for $3.3 billion in cash, the Danish company announced in November.
The companies partnered in 2019 to develop RNA interference (RNAi) therapies using Dicerna’s proprietary technology, which Novo will acquire as part of the deal, according to its press release.
The acquisition is the latest in a slew of big-ticket purchases for Novo Nordisk, including a $1.35 billion buyout of Emisphere Technologies and a deal for…