Partnerships

Genentech is betting up to $2.3 billion on an obesity drug designed to build muscle while cutting fat, addressing a GLP-1 side effect.

Amplitude Therapeutics has entered a strategic research collaboration and licensing agreement with Eli Lilly and Company to discover and develop trans-amplifying RNA (taRNA) vaccine candidates for infectious diseases with high unmet need, with Lilly holding an option to add up to two additional targets.

The companies are targeting a protein on glioblastoma's treatment-resistant tumor stem cells, which could open a new path past the blood-brain barrier.

Genprex moves its diabetes gene therapy toward the clinic, tapping a CGMP CDMO after preclinical models reversed hyperglycemia in mice.

Shanghai Henlius Biotech has entered a strategic collaboration with Sandoz covering up to 10 proposed monoclonal antibody and antibody-drug conjugate biosimilar assets, deepening the companies' existing oncology biosimilars partnership with initial deals worth up to $322 million.

Under the 5-year manufacturing deal, NurExone will access Made Scientific's Princeton, NJ, GMP facility to speed regenerative exosome therapies toward clinical trials.

AWS's AI and cloud tools aim to compress Novo Nordisk's path from drug target to first human dose for chronic disease patients.

The facility aims to scale global biologics supply, supporting patient access to advanced therapies as manufacturing capacity becomes a bottleneck in drug delivery.

Mediar Therapeutics has signed a collaboration and option agreement with Ono Pharmaceutical to co-develop novel antibody therapeutics targeting myofibroblast biology in fibro-inflammatory diseases, building on Mediar's existing three-program antifibrotic antibody pipeline.

Kyverna Therapeutics and ElevateBio have entered a commercial manufacturing and supply agreement for miv-cel, Kyverna's autologous CD19-targeting CAR T-cell therapy, securing scalable production ahead of a planned launch in stiff person syndrome.

Johnson & Johnson has entered a collaboration and equity investment agreement with Sail Biomedicines to advance in vivo CAR-T therapies for immune-mediated diseases, securing an exclusive option to acquire the company for $2.58 billion.

Harbour BioMed and Sinopharm have formed a strategic Innovation Consortium to co-develop biologics in oncology and immune-mediated inflammatory disease.

Under the deal, Lonza will grant Engitix a single-target ADC license for SYNtecan E, GlycoConnect, and HydraSpace to advance ECM-targeted fibrosis and cancer therapies.

Halozyme and Incyte will advance subcutaneous INCA033989 for mutCALR-positive MPNs, with the aim of improving treatment delivery while supporting targeted clinical development.

Innovent Biologics and Spero Therapeutics have signed a $1.1 billion licensing deal for IBI355, a phase 2-ready Fc-silent anti-CD40L antibody planned for testing in IgG4-related disease and Sjögren's disease.

Abu Dhabi is expanding its role in global biopharmaceutical manufacturing through strategic investments, advanced infrastructure, and international partnerships designed to accelerate biologics production, innovation, and supply chain resilience.

The annual gathering in San Diego showcased the industry's pivot toward complex molecules, flexible manufacturing, and human-based drug discovery — while candid conversations about capital access, deal strategy, and preclinical predictability reflected a sector navigating pressure with optimism.

The deal, announced at BIO 2026, carries total potential value exceeding $2.5 billion and will use Insilico's Pharma.AI platform to drive target-to-candidate discovery across neuroinflammatory, neurodegenerative, and rare neurological indications.

Takeda will use Boltz biomolecular AI models to support structure prediction, affinity estimation, and molecular design in preclinical research.

The company reported that phase I data show approximately 40% of patients remained cancer-free at 10 years, while 2 phase 2 trials are ongoing.

Made Scientific and Pluristyx will integrate iPSC starting materials with CDMO services for cell therapy development.

CytomX and Regeneron aim to deepen their joint effort to develop protease-activated bispecific immunotherapies designed to improve tumor selectivity and widen the therapeutic window in solid tumors.

Bristol Myers Squibb and Hengrui Pharma’s strategic collaboration supports development of investigational oncology, hematology, and immunology therapies targeting unmet patient needs.

GSK’s licensing agreement for SiranBio’s ALK7-targeting siRNA candidate expands development efforts aimed at reducing cardiometabolic risk in chronic inflammatory diseases.

Novo Nordisk intends to apply advanced AI to analyze complex data, improve target identification, and accelerate development of therapies for chronic diseases