Global Briefs: Viatris, GSK, Novo Nordisk, Asahi Kasei & More
A roundup of news from the large and mid-sized bio/pharmaceutical companies featuring Viatris GSK, Asahi Kasei, Novo Nordisk, and Boehringer Ingelheim. Highlights below.
For the latest news roundup on small and Emerging Pharma companies, see Biotech Briefs.
Restructuring
* Viatris Announces Restructuring; Global Workforce Reduction of 10%
M&A News
* GSK To Acquire 35Pharma for $950 M
* Asahi Kasei To Acquire Aicuris for $920 M
Partnering News
* GSK, Frontier Biotech in $1-Bn RNA Drug Pact
* Novo Nordisk, Vivtex in $2.1-Bn Oral Obesity Drug Pact
* BI, Sitryx Therapeutics in $500-M Small-Molecule Autoimmune & Inflammatory Drug Pact
Appointments
* Alkermes Appoints New CEO
Restructuring
Viatris Announces Restructuring; Global Workforce Reduction of 10%
As part of an enterprise-wide strategic review, Viatris has announced certain restructuring activities, which includes a global workforce reduction of up to approximately 10%. The company anticipates that these restructuring activities, as well as associated costs and savings, will be completed primarily over the next three years. These restructuring activities are expected to optimize the company’s commercial capabilities, enabling functions, R&D, medical affairs and regulatory activities, and sourcing, manufacturing and supply-chain activities, including inventory optimization.
The company expects to incur total pre-tax charges ranging between $700 million and $850 million. Such charges are expected to include between $50 million and $100 million of non-cash charges mainly related to accelerated depreciation and asset impairment charges, including inventory write-offs. The remaining estimated cash costs of between $650 million and $750 million are expected to be primarily related to severance and employee benefits expense, as well as other costs, including those related to contract terminations, vendor consolidations, product transfer costs and network related simplification and modernization costs. In addition, management believes the potential savings related to these committed restructuring activities will be between $600 million and $700 million once fully implemented, with most of these savings expected to improve operating cash flow.
Separately, the company reported that in mid-February 2026, a fire occurred in a service area at the company’s oral solid-dose manufacturing facility in Nashik, India. Manufacturing at the facility has been temporarily suspended, and the company currently expects to resume operations beginning in April 2026.
Source: Viatris
M&A News
GSK To Acquire 35Pharma for $950 M
GSK has agreed to acquire 35Pharma, a clinical-stage bio/pharmaceutical company focused on protein-based therapeutics, for $950 million.
The acquisition includes HS235, an investigational medicine that has completed Phase I healthy volunteer clinical trials with studies to start imminently in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and pulmonary hypertension due to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (PH-HFpEF).
Under the terms of the agreement, GSK will acquire 100% of the equity of 35Pharma for $950 million, payable in cash at closing. The transaction is subject to customary conditions, including applicable regulatory agency clearances under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act in the US and the Competition Act in Canada, along with a filing under the Investment Canada Act.
Source: GSK
Asahi Kasei To Acquire Aicuris for $920 M
Asahi Kasei has agreed to acquire all issued shares of Aicuris Anti-infective Cures, a German-based bio/pharmaceutical company, for approximately EUR 780 million ($920 million).
This transaction expands Asahi Kasei’s specialty pharmaceutical platform further into severe infectious diseases and is expected to close in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, subject to customary conditions.
The transaction also includes three assets: Prevymis (letermovir), a cytomegalovirus drug, currently licensed to Merck & Co.; Pritelivir, a herpes simplex virus (HSV) drug currently anticipated for US Food and Drug Administration approval in 2026, and AIC468, a BK virus drug that completed a Phase I clinical trial.
Source: Asahi Kasei
Partnering News
GSK, Frontier Biotech in $1-Bn RNA Drug Pact
GSK and Frontier Biotechnologies, a bio/pharmaceutical company, have entered an agreement under which GSK will obtain exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize two of Frontier Biotech’s small interfering RNA (siRNA) pipeline products, one of which is currently at investigational new drug (IND) stage, and the other is a preclinical candidate, in a deal worth up to $1 billion ($40 million upfront and $960 million in milestone payments).
Frontier will be responsible for the initial advancement of the two investigational assets, taking one asset through the Phase I clinical trial in China, and completing investigational new drug-enabling activities with the other. GSK will be responsible for all subsequent global clinical development, regulatory submissions, and commercialization activities.
Under the agreement, Frontier will receive $40 million upfront and up to $963 million in success-based development, regulatory, and commercial milestones in total across the two programs as well as tiered royalties on net sales worldwide.
Source: Frontier Biotechnologies
Novo Nordisk, Vivtex in $2.1 Bn Oral Obesity Drug Pact
Novo Nordisk and Vivtex Corporation, a bio/pharmaceutical companies focused on oral drug delivery, have entered an agreement to develop oral biologic medicines for obesity, diabetes and associated comorbidities, in a deal worth up to $2.1 billion.
The collaboration aims to enable the oral delivery of biologic drug candidates that are traditionally limited to injectable administration due to poor absorption in the gastrointestinal tract. The partnership combines Novo Nordisk’s expertise in peptide and protein therapeutics with Vivtex’s proprietary gastrointestinal screening and formulation platform to identify oral therapeutics.
Under the agreement, Vivtex will license select oral drug-delivery technologies to Novo Nordisk while Vivtex is eligible to receive upfront consideration, research funding and milestone payments totaling up to 2.1 billion US dollars, and tiered royalties on future product sales.
Vivtex’s platform combines multiple proprietary gastrointestinal screening assays, drug-delivery technologies, and computational simulation and AI capabilities to optimize the oral delivery of biologic medicines. The platform is designed to achieve high oral bioavailability and consistent in-human performance. Following research and formulation selection, Novo Nordisk will assume responsibility for global development, regulatory activities, manufacturing, and commercialization of any resulting products.
Source: Novo Nordisk
BI, Sitryx Therapeutics in $500-M Small-Molecule Autoimmune & Inflammatory Drug Pact
Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) and Sitryx Therapeutics, a clinical-stage bio/pharmaceutical company focused on autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, have announced that BI has acquired an exclusive license for a preclinical, small-molecule program from Sitryx, in a deal worth up to $500 million.
The program an oral, potentially disease-modifying treatment approach across multiple autoimmune and inflammatory disease indications.
Under the agreement, Sitryx grants BI an exclusive global license to the multiple candidates and associated intellectual property within this small-molecule inhibitor program. BI assumes full responsibility for the program, including further research, clinical development, and commercialization. Sitryx receives both upfront and near-term payments and is eligible to receive potential development, regulatory and commercialization milestone payments totaling more than $500 million, in addition to tiered royalties on future sales.
Appointments
Alkermes Names New CEO
Alkermes, a Dublin, Ireland-based bio/pharmaceutical focused on neuroscience, has announced that Richard Pops, current Chief Executive Officer (CEO), will retire effective July 31, 2026. Alkermes’ Board of Directors appointed Blair Jackson, Alkermes’ current Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, as the company’s next CEO, effective Aug. 1, 2026. Jackson is also expected to join the Board at that time. Following the transition, Pops will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board and will act as an advisor to the company’s executive team.
Source: Alkermes
