2025 was a notable year for mergers and acquisitions in the biopharma sector, marked by several deals that could have lasting effects on the industry. While Johnson & Johnson’s $14.6 billion acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapeutics was the largest transaction by value, it did not make BioSpace editors’ list of the most influential deals.
The competition for Metsera drew significant attention. Pfizer, after struggling to build an obesity drug pipeline internally, offered $4.9 billion for Metsera in September to access long-acting GLP-1 and amylin analogue treatments. Novo Nordisk countered with an unsolicited $8.5 billion bid but ultimately lost after Pfizer raised its offer to about $9.8 billion, according to S&P Capital IQ valuations.
Obesity is a growing market segment in pharmaceuticals, with projections suggesting annual revenues could reach $27 billion by 2028 and potentially $150 billion by the early 2030s.
Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) made a strategic move against the broader retreat from cell therapy by acquiring Orbital Therapeutics for $1.5 billion. This added OTX-201—a circular RNA therapy for autoimmune disorders—to BMS’s portfolio alongside approved therapies like Abecma and Breyanzi.
Novo Nordisk further expanded its metabolic disease presence with a $5.2 billion purchase of Akero Therapeutics, securing efruxifermin following promising Phase IIb trial results in treating liver fibrosis associated with MASH (metabolic dysfunction–associated steatohepatitis). This acquisition followed similar activity from Roche, which bought 89bio as interest returned to this area after earlier setbacks in the field.
AbbVie entered the psychedelics space through a $1.2 billion deal for Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals’ lead asset bretisilocin, aimed at major depressive disorder. The remainder of Gilgamesh’s pipeline spun off into a new company maintaining partnership ties with AbbVie. According to Aaron Bartlone, CEO of Cybin: “most neuropsych-focused pharmas ‘have kept a distance,’ from psychedelics.”
Gene therapy faced challenges as private equity groups The Carlyle Group and SK Capital acquired bluebird bio—now renamed Genetix—for just $50 million despite its previous multibillion-dollar valuation. Bluebird’s sale highlights increased private equity involvement in biotechnology and comes amid ongoing commercial difficulties for gene therapy developers.
Supernus Pharmaceuticals purchased Sage Therapeutics for $795 million following several clinical failures at Sage and a rejected lower buyout offer from Biogen earlier in the year. Supernus now owns products including Qelbree (ADHD), Onapgo (Parkinson’s motor fluctuations), Gocovri (Parkinson’s dyskinesia), and Zurzuvae (postpartum depression).
BioNTech ended years of legal disputes by acquiring CureVac for $1.25 billion, gaining access to cancer immunotherapy candidates including an mRNA-based glioblastoma treatment. The company said that obtaining CureVac’s pipeline “marks the next milestone in the execution of [BioNTech’s] oncology strategy.” Despite challenges facing mRNA-based therapies in regulatory environments such as the United States, BioNTech remains committed to developing this platform alongside other modalities.
These transactions reflect shifting strategies among major pharmaceutical companies as they adapt portfolios toward high-growth areas like obesity drugs, cell therapies, mental health treatments involving psychedelics, and next-generation gene or mRNA therapies.
