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Global Briefs: Moderna, J&J, Alkermes, Lilly, Teva & Halozyme

A roundup of news from Moderna, J&J/Halda, Alkermes/Avadel, Halozyme/Elektrofi, Lilly, and Teva Pharmaceutical. Highlights below.

Manufacturing News
*Moderna Onshoring Drug-Product Mfg for mRNA Medicines to US
M&A News
* J&J To Acquire Halda Therapeutics for $3.05 Bn
* Alkermes Ups Offer for Avadel Pharmaceuticals in $2.37-Bn Deal
* Halozyme Completes Acquisition of Elektrofi in $900-M Deal
General
* Lilly To Establish New Gateway Labs Site in Philadelphia
* Teva Launches Open Innovation Platform, Teva Rise

Manufacturing News

Moderna Onshoring Drug-Product Mfg for mRNA Medicines to US
Moderna has announced the expansion of its US manufacturing capabilities with the onshoring of drug-product manufacturing to its existing Moderna Technology Center in Norwood, Massachusetts. Moderna will now operate full end-to-end manufacturing for its mRNA medicines in the US, including both clinical and commercial supply.  Construction at the Moderna Technology Center for the new drug-product manufacturing capability has started with Moderna targeting completion by the first half of 2027.

Source: Moderna

M&A News

J&J To Acquire Halda Therapeutics for $3.05 Bn
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has agreed to acquire Halda Therapeutics, a clinical-stage bio/pharmaceutical company, focused on oral therapies for multiple types of solid tumors, including prostate cancer, for $3.05 billion.

Halda has a proprietary discovery platform, Regulated Induced Proximity Targeting Chimera (RIPTAC) platform, to enable the modular design of RIPTAC therapeutics as a novel heterobifunctional drug modality for precision cancer treatment. Halda’s lead candidate, HLD-0915, is a clinical-stage therapy for prostate cancer. The acquisition also includes several earlier candidates for breast, lung and multiple other tumor types. Halda’s pipeline and platform may also enable the creation of targeted therapies beyond oncology.

The transaction is expected to close within the next few months (as reported on November 17, 2025), subject to antitrust clearance and other customary closing conditions.

Source: Johnson & Johnson

Alkermes Ups Offer for Avadel Pharmaceuticals in $2.37-Bn Deal
Alkermes, a Dublin, Ireland-based bio/pharmaceutical company focused on neuroscience, has increased its offer over a proposal by Lundbeck, a  Copenhagen, Denmark-based bio/pharmaceutical company, to acquire Avadel Pharmaceuticals, a Dublin, Ireland-based bio/pharmaceutical company, with Alkermes raising its bid to $2.37 billion and Avadel agreeing to the offer. The companies announced the agreement on November 18, 2025.

Under the agreement, Alkermes will acquire Avadel for a total transaction consideration of up to $22.50 per share, consisting of $21.00 in cash and one non-transferable contingent value right entitling holders to a potential additional cash payment of $1.50 per share, contingent upon final US Food and Drug Administration approval of Avadel’s Lumryz (sodium oxybate) for the treatment of idiopathic hypersomnia, a sleep disorder, by the end of 2028. Lumryz is now FDA approved for treating excessive daytime sleepiness and cataplexy, a sudden, brief muscular weakness triggered by emotions, in patients with narcolepsy.

Alkermes made an initial offer to acquire Avadel last month (October 22, 2025), after which Lundbeck made an unsolicited counter proposal to acquire Avadel earlier this month (November 14, 2025). Lundbeck’s bid was for a consideration of up to $23.00 per share in cash, with $21.00 per share payable up front on completion, and a non-transferable contingent value right entitling holders to potential additional cash payments $1.00 per ordinary share, contingent upon Avadel’s Lumryz and valiloxybate, a drug candidate, collectively reaching total annual net sales for end-use in the United States of at least $450 million in any calendar year by December 31, 2027 and another $1.00 per ordinary share, contingent upon both products collectively reaching US sales  of at least $700 million in any calendar year by December 31, 2030.

Alkermes’ revised offer for Avadel has been approved by the Boards of Directors of Alkermes and Avadel. Subject to the satisfaction of the conditions of the revised offer, the deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026.

Source: Alkermes and Avadel

Halozyme Completes Acquisition of Elektrofi in $900-M Deal
Halozyme Therapeutics, a San Diego, California-based bio/pharmaceutical company, has completed its acquisition of Elektrofi, a bio/pharmaceutical company with a microparticle technology for biologics, in a deal worth up to $900 million ($750 million at closing and $150 million in milestone payments). The deal was announced in October 2025.

Elektrofi’s microparticle technology, Hypercon, is a technology that enables high protein concentrations while maintaining syringeability, which is the ability to inject smoothly and easily, of product formulation concentrations of 400–500 mg/mL. The increased concentration reduces the volume of injection for the same dosage to enable at-home and in healthcare practitioner office administration of biologics, including via small-volume auto-injectors or with Halozyme’s high-volume auto-injectors.

Halozyme develops, manufactures and commercializes, for itself or with partners, drug–device combination products using its advanced auto-injector technologies. The company has two commercial proprietary products, Hylenex- and Xyosted-partnered commercial products and ongoing product development programs with Teva Pharmaceuticals and McDermott Laboratories Limited, an affiliate of Viatris. It is also has a drug-delivery technology, Enhanze, which uses a proprietary recombinant human hyaluronidase enzyme, which is used to facilitate the subcutaneous delivery of injected drugs and fluids. The company out-licenses the technology to partner bio/pharmaceutical companies.

Halozyme acquired Elektrofi for an upfront payment of $750 million, subject to customary purchase price adjustments, and up to three $50-million milestone payments contingent on three separate product regulatory approvals, for a total consideration of up to $900 million.

Source: Halozyme Therapeutics

General

Lilly To Establish New Gateway Labs Site in Philadelphia
Eli Lilly and Company has announced plans to open a new Lilly Gateway Labs (LGL) site in Philadelphia, a network of shared innovation hubs designed to support early-stage biotechnology companies by providing lab space and opportunities to collaborate with Lilly scientists. The new Gateway Labs site will occupy 44,000 square feet.

With the addition of Philadelphia, Lilly’s Gateway footprint now includes four geographic centers of innovation, including Boston, South San Francisco, and San Diego. Lilly Gateway Labs is part of Lilly Catalyze360, alongside Lilly Ventures, Lilly ExploR&D, and Lilly TuneLab, which together support biotech innovation by providing access to strategic capital, lab space and technology, and R&D capabilities, including advanced AI models.

Source: Eli Lilly and Company

Teva Launches Open Innovation Platform, Teva Rise
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries  has launched Teva Rise, a global open innovation platform to connect startups and technology companies with Teva’s business units to create solutions for seven industry-wide challenges identified by Teva across R&D, manufacturing and supply chain, and commercial operations. The seven challenges are:

  • Human-Predictive Platforms for Testing Biologics: seeking validated, scalable human-predictive platforms (e.g., organ-on-chip, advanced cell culture) in preclinical drug development;
  • AI-enabled Protocol Design for Clinical Trial Simulations: leveraging machine learning and predictive analytics to simulate clinical trial outcomes, optimize protocol parameters, reduce amendments, and improve patient recruitment and retention.
  • Digital Technologies for Long-acting Injectables: exploring digital health tools, smart devices, or behavioral science solutions that monitor, support, and enhance patient perception of long-acting injectable therapies, resulting in improved treatment outcomes and reduced healthcare costs.
  • Tender Value Optimization: implementing advanced analytics platforms and AI-driven decision support to maximize value, profitability, and competitive performance in global pharmaceutical tenders across diverse markets and formats.
  • Asset Reliability & Predictive Maintenance: deploying AI-enabled predictive maintenance models and systems that integrate historical and real-time data to proactively improve reliability, efficiency, and uptime of manufacturing assets and sites.
  • Product Quality & Risk Prediction: utilizing AI/machine-learning-based risk assessment tools to provide predictive, actionable insights into product robustness, highlight process risks, and guide mitigation efforts for enhanced quality and compliance.
  • Resource Allocation Intelligence: applying data-driven decision-support systems and AI-powered resource allocation models to enable proactive, optimal decision-making, reduce lost sales, and minimize manual workload during supply chain disruptions or shortages.

Each of the above challenges reflects real-world business priorities and will be sponsored by a senior business leader at Teva. Startups selected during the open call will have the possibility to pilot their solution with Teva, explore routes to integrate it, and scale within Teva’s global facilities and operations. In line with the company’s accelerated growth strategy and according to estimates, Teva says it will invest tens of millions of dollars in the coming years in adopting innovative solutions to provide a competitive advantage.

Source: Teva