What have been the top deals—mergers and acquisitions—closed or announced thus far in 2025? DCAT Value Chain Insights takes an inside look.

By Patricia Van Arnum, Editorial Director, DCAT, pvanarnum@dcat.org

Top mergers & acquisitions thus far in 2025 
Johnson & Johnson’s $14.6-billion acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapies. Top on the list of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) thus far in 2025 is Johnson & Johnson’s $14.6-billion acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapies, a Bedminster, New Jersey-based bio/pharmaceutical company developing therapeutics for central nervous system disorders. A key asset in the deal is Intra-Cellular Therapies’ Caplyta (lumateperone), a once-daily oral therapy approved to treat adults with schizophrenia, as well as depressive episodes associated with bipolar I or II disorder (bipolar depression), as a monotherapy and adjunctive therapy with lithium or valproate. The drug is also being reviewed as an adjunctive treatment for major depressive disorder with a supplemental new drug application submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration for this indication. The acquisition also included ITI-1284, a Phase II compound being studied in generalized anxiety disorder and Alzheimer’s disease-related psychosis and agitation.  

Merck & Co.’s pending $10.0-billion acquisition of  Verona Pharma. Last month (July 2025), Merck & Co. agreed to acquire Verona Pharma, a bio/pharmaceutical company focused on respiratory diseases, for $10 billion. Through this acquisition, Merck will add Ohtuvayre (ensifentrine), a selective dual inhibitor of phosphodiesterase 3 and 4 (PDE3 and PDE4), to its cardio-pulmonary pipeline and portfolio. The US Food and Drug Administration approved Ohtuvayre in June 2024 for the maintenance treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in adult patients. Ohtuvayre combines bronchodilator and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory effects. Ohtuvayre is also being evaluated in clinical trials for the treatment of non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis.

Sanofi’s up to $9.5-billion acquisition of Blueprint Medicines. Last month (July 2025), Sanofi completed its acquisition of Blueprint Medicines, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based bio/pharmaceutical company specializing in rare diseases, in a $9.5-billion deal ($9.1 billion upfront and up to $400 million in milestone payments).  

Blueprint’s lead commercial product is Ayvakit/Ayvakyt (avapritinib), a rare immunology disease medicine approved in the US and the European Union. The drug had net revenues of $479 million in 2024 and nearly $150 million in the first quarter of 2025. In its first-quarter 2025 earnings results, Blueprint projected full-year 2025 global net product revenues of Ayvakit/Ayvakyt of $700 million to $720 million with potential global net product revenues of $2 billion by 2030. Blueprint’s key pipeline assets include elenestinib for treating systemic mastocytosis, as well as BLU-808, an oral wild-type KIT inhibitor that has the potential to treat a broad range of diseases in immunology, according to the companies.  

Pending $6.7-billion merger of Endo and Mallinckrodt. In a merger of specialty pharma companies, another key deal is the pending $6.7-billion merger of Endo and Mallinckrodt, a deal that is scheduled to close later this year (2025). The combined company is expected to generate pro forma 2025 revenue of $3.6 billion and pro forma 2025 adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) of $1.2 billion as the companies reported in March (March 2025) at the time of the merger announcement. The combined company will have an operating footprint, primarily located in the US and supported by capabilities in Europe, India, Australia, and Japan. The combined company will have 17 manufacturing facilities, 30 distribution centers, and approximately 5,700 employees at closing. The deal is expected to close later this year.

Following the close of the transaction, Mallinckrodt and Endo plan to combine their generic pharmaceuticals businesses and Endo’s sterile injectables business with the intent to separate those businesses from the combined company at a later date. Such a separation would be subject to approval by the combined company’s Board of Directors and other conditions. 

Merck KGaA’s $3.4-billion acquisition of SpringWorks Therapeutics. Last month (July 2025), Merck KGaA completed its acquisition of SpringWorks Therapeutics, a Stamford, Connecticut-based commercial-stage bio/pharmaceutical company focused on severe rare diseases and cancer, for $3.4 billion. SpringWorks’ commercial products include Ogsiveo (nirogacestat) for treating adult patients with progressing desmoid tumors, a rare subtype of soft-tissue sarcomas. The drug is approved in the US, and in June 2025, the European Medicine Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) adopted a positive opinion recommending the approval of nirogacestat. 

The company also received approval earlier this year (February 2025) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Gomekli (mirdametinib) for treating adult and pediatric patients 2 years of age and older with neurofibromatosis Type 1, a genetic condition that causes changes in skin pigment and tumors on nerve tissue. The marketing authorization application for mirdametinib has been validated by EMA with a potential approval in 2025. SpringWorks additionally has a pipeline of drugs focused on oncology and rare diseases. 

Novartis’ up to $3.1-billion acquisition of Anthos Therapeutics. Another top deal was Novartis’ $3.1-billion acquisition of Anthos Therapeutics, a Boston-based clinical-stage bio/pharmaceutical company, in a deal worth up to $3.1 billion ($925 million upfront and $2.15 billion in milestone payments).  

Anthos Therapeutic was launched by the investment firm, Blackstone Life Sciences, and Novartis in 2019. Its lead product is abelacimab, a late-stage medicine in development for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation. Anthos has advanced abelacimab through clinical development under a license from Novartis. Abelacimab, in Phase III development, is a fully human monoclonal antibody designed to induce effective hemostasis-sparing anticoagulation through Factor XI inhibition. Three Phase III clinical trials are ongoing for patients at risk of arterial and venous clots, one in patients with atrial fibrillation, and two in cancer associated thrombosis.  

Lilly’s up to $2.5-billion acquisition of Scorpion Therapeutics. A key deal in small molecules was Lilly’s acquisition of  Scorpion Therapeutics’ PI3Kα inhibitor program, STX-478, a once-daily oral, mutant-selective PI3Kα inhibitor currently being evaluated in a Phase I/II clinical trial for breast cancer and other advanced solid tumors., in a deal worth up to $2.5 billion in cash, inclusive of an upfront payment and subsequent payments upon achievement of certain regulatory and sales milestones. Additionally, as part of the transaction, Scorpion spun out a new entity to hold its employees and non-PI3Kα pipeline assets. The new, independent company is owned by Scorpion’s current shareholders with Lilly holding a minority equity interest.  

Bain Capital’s pending $3.3-billion acquisition of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation. In June (June 2025) Bain Capital announced that it was acquiring Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, in a carve-out transaction from Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corporation, for approximately $3.3 billion. Once spun out, Tanabe Pharma will have several priority therapeutic areas, including immunology & inflammation, vaccines, central nervous system (CNS), diabetes, and metabolic disease. The deal is expected to close in third quarter of 2025.

GSK’s up to $2.0-billion acquisition of Boston Pharmaceuticals’ efimosfermin alfa. Last month (July 2025), GSK completed its acquisiiton of efimosfermin alfa, a Phase III-ready investigational specialty medicine for treating and preventing the progression of steatotic liver disease (SLD), in a $2.0-billion deal (upfront payment of $1.2 billion and up to $800 million in success-based milestone payment). Efimosfermin is a once-monthly fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) analog therapeutic in clinical development for the treatment of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), including cirrhosis, and future development in alcohol-related liver disease (ALD), both forms of SLD. Currently, MASH and ALD have limited treatment options and are the leading causes of liver transplant in the US, according to information from GSK.

Novartis’ up to $1.7-billion acquisition of Regulus Therapeutics. In June (June 2025), Novartis completed its acquisition of Regulus Therapeutics, a San Diego, California-based clinical-stage bio/pharmaceutical company developing microRNA therapeutics, in a deal worth up to $1.7 billion ($800 million upfront and $900 million in milestone payments).

Regulus’ lead asset, farabursen, is an oligonucleotide targeting miR-17 for treating autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), a genetic disorder characterized by the development of fluid-filled cysts in the kidneys. Farabursen is an investigational microRNA inhibitor designed to target miR-17 with preferential kidney exposure, aiming to reduce the growth of cysts and kidney size, as well as delay progression of disease severity in ADPKD. In March 2025, Regulus announced the successful completion of a Phase Ib multiple-ascending dose clinical trial for farabursen.  

GSK’s up to $1.15-billion acquisition of IDRx. In January (January 2025), GSK completed its acquisition of IDRx, a Boston-based, clinical-stage bio/pharmaceutical company, in a deal worth up to $1.15 billion ($1 billion upfront and $150 million in milestone payments). The acquisition includes IDRx’s lead molecule, IDRX-42, being developed as a first- and second-line therapy for treating gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). IDRX-42 is a investigational small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor designed to target all key KIT mutations in GIST. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted IDRX-42 fast-track designation for treating patients with GIST after disease progression or intolerance to imatinib. It was also granted orphan drug designations by FDA for the treatment of GIST. The acquisition adds to GSK’s portfolio in gastrointestinal cancers, including ongoing trials with dostarlimab and GSK5764227, a B7-H3-targeted antibody-drug conjugate. This expands GSK’s capabilities in precision oncology, particularly with IDRX-42 for gastrointestinal stromal tumor.