#29 - Billion-dollar deals at JP Morgan

The coffee break biotech roundup, by SomX.

Welcome to the biotech investor’s Super Bowl!

The JP Morgan Healthcare Conference is here, and the deals are rolling in faster than you can say "IPO".

This week, Gilead dives into dermatology, GSK bets big on rare cancer, J&J goes all-in on neuroscience, Lilly strengthens its oncology play, and a stealthy AI startup raises a nice lump sum to tackle biotech’s paperwork woes.

Grab your calculators – it’s going to be a lucrative ride.

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🦁 Gilead roars into JPM25, inking $1.7B inflammation deal with Leo Pharma (FierceBiotech): Gilead is venturing beyond its infectious disease roots with a $1.7 billion handshake with dermatology expert Leo Pharma. The pair are taking aim at STAT6, a rather clever transcription factor involved in inflammatory diseases from eczema to COPD. While Gilead tackles oral formulations, Leo will focus on topical treatments – quite the tag team!

Our take: A hefty £250 million upfront for preclinical assets shows remarkable confidence in STAT6's potential to tackle both IL-4 and IL-13 pathways – a rather coveted duo in immunology. By targeting these mechanisms with small molecules rather than biologics like Dupixent, Gilead's making a calculated play for a slice of the injectable-dominated market. Quite the strategic pivot from their HIV heritage.

🧠 J&J to buy Intra-Cellular for $14.6B in latest neuroscience bet (Endpoints): Setting a rather remarkable precedent as the largest biotech M&A since 2023 – working out at a tasty $132.00 per share – J&J is snatching up Intra-Cellular and its prized Caplyta. Approved for bipolar depression and schizophrenia, and under FDA review for major depressive disorder, the drug has peak sales potential of more than $5 billion. The deal also brings ITI-1284, a promising Phase 2 asset for anxiety and Alzheimer's-related symptoms.

Our take: How fascinating to witness the pendulum swing back toward brain disorders after years of industry exodus. This recent flurry of neuroscience acquisitions – $8.7B for Cerevel, $14B for Karuna, and now this – suggests Big Pharma's rediscovered appetite for psychiatric medicine. With Spravato already in hand and a promising depression candidate in the pipeline, J&J's building quite the comprehensive CNS toolkit.

🎯 GSK targets rare cancer with $1B+ acquisition of IDRx (Biospace): GSK is shelling out a massive $1 billion upfront (plus a modest $150 million milestone sweetener) to snap up IDRx and its rather promising IDRX-42 molecule. This clever little compound targets gastrointestinal stromal tumours – a rare digestive tract cancer where a whopping 90% of patients develop resistance mutations after initial treatment. Rather than playing whack-a-mole with individual mutations, this broad-spectrum approach might offer a more durable solution.

Our take: In a field positively bursting with TKIs, IDRX-42 rather elegantly distinguishes itself by potentially condensing multiple treatments into a single therapy – making life considerably simpler for those grappling with resistance mutations. And with response rates of 29% overall, climbing to a rather impressive 53% in second-line treatment, GSK's $1 billion investment in this novel mutation-targeting approach might be money well spent.

🦂 Lilly snaps up Scorpion's PI3Kα cancer programme for $2.5B (FirstWord Pharma): Fresh from its Mounjaro/Zepbound success, Lilly is reinvesting its GLP-1 windfall by acquiring Scorpion’s PI3Kα inhibitor programme. The deal centres on STX-478 – a mutant-selective PI3Kα inhibitor, currently in Phase I/II trials for breast cancer and other solid tumours – which could potentially help 30-40% of hormone-positive breast cancer patients. Rather neatly, it complements Lilly's own PI3Kα inhibitor LY4045004, slated for clinic debut in early 2025.

Our take: While Lilly's been steadily building its oncology empire – including the $8 billion Loxo deal to radiopharmaceuticals – this acquisition is particularly strategic. The deal frees Scorpion to advance its promising EGFR-targeting NSCLC assets (STX-721 and STX-241), while Lilly gains a potential companion to Verzenio, and full control over developing what could be the leading PI3Kα inhibitor in its class.

And finally…

📄 This YC partner just raised $30 Million for an AI startup automating paperwork for biotech (Forbes): Fresh out of stealth mode, Collate has secured a rather impressive $30 million seed round led by Redpoint. Founded by YC partner Srubhi Sarna, who's bidding farewell to the accelerator, Collate aims to tackle one of life science's most tedious challenges: the mountainous paperwork required for everything from clinical trials to manufacturing compliance.

Our take: Biotech's documentation burden has long been the elephant in the laboratory, with companies spending countless hours juggling regulatory requirements across disparate systems. While Collate lacks customers at present, their $100 million valuation speaks volumes about investors' confidence in AI's potential to streamline this bureaucratic bottleneck. Even a modest improvement in efficiency could translate to millions in saved development costs.

Tune in

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This episode explores the latest in AI: from regulatory frameworks and ethical content sourcing, to groundbreaking applications in drug discovery, genomics and AI-first ecosystems.

🏖️ RNA Sandbox with Johns Hopkins RNA Innovation Center
Learn about Johns Hopkins University’s cutting-edge hub for RNA innovation, where developers can access resources to advance RNA-based technologies and business ventures.

📝 Annual Career Planning Strategy: Reflect, Plan, and Achieve in 2025

Reflect on your achievements, set actionable goals, and create seamless systems to achieve Biotech career success in 2025 – with tools and strategies to stay on track.

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🤝 Scientific BD Manager, Mitra bio: Ready to turn big ideas into big deals? Build partnerships, manage clinical trials, and shape the future of science across skincare, pharma and academia.

🗂️ Data Manager (Clinical Trials), Medpace: Can you spot patterns in chaos? Lead the charge in clinical trial data, designing flawless systems and ensuring no detail goes unnoticed in groundbreaking research.

👩🏻‍🔬 Team Lead, Analytical Development & QC, OXB: Ready to whip the lab into shape? Lead teams, troubleshoot assays, and keep GMP compliance on point while advancing cutting-edge cell and gene therapy solutions.

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🧬 20-23.01 | Advanced Therapies Week | Dallas, Texas, USA: Discover new technologies, forge impactful partnerships, and connect with CGT leaders in the heart of Texas’s burgeoning biomanufacturing hub.

🔎 29-30.01 | Festival of Genomics & Biodata | London, UK: Explore the expanding world of genomics and biodata, from multi-omics to AI, as industry leaders connect to tackle healthcare’s biggest challenges.

🍽️ 30.01 | BIA Gala Dinner 2025 | London, UK: Celebrate life sciences at the Roundhouse with fine dining, networking, fundraising, and live music alongside 760+ industry leaders and innovators.

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