Recent megadeals reset the high end of private biotech M&A

Headlined by this week’s Lilly takeout of Kelonia, a handful of recent deals suggests the ceiling for private biotech M&A may be moving higher, as pharmas compete for clinical assets in favored modalities and therapeutic areas.

In an analysis of private company takeouts since the start of 2021, BioCentury identified 20 $1 billion-plus deals for venture-backed, pure-play biotechs in which both the M&A upfront and the target company’s total venture capital raised were disclosed...