Major pharmaceutical companies engaged in significant dealmaking today, including Eli Lilly's $3.35 billion partnership with InnoCare and Roche's $2 billion agreement with Atavistik Bio. Novo Nordisk and Genentech also committed substantial capital to multi-billion dollar drug discovery and delivery licensing agreements. Meanwhile, legal pressure mounted as Florida sued key insulin producers and pharmacy benefit managers over alleged price inflation.
01Company specific
Novo Nordisk Inks Up to $1.3B Deal With Nanexa for Obesity Injectables
Novo Nordisk struck a 1.165 billion euro, or $1.33 billion, licensing agreement with Nanexa to access the Swedish biotech's long-acting drug delivery technology for obesity and Type 2 diabetes treatments. The deal grants Novo an exclusive global license to apply Nanexa's PharmaShell platform to up to five programs targeting cardiometabolic diseases. PharmaShell uses an inorganic coating on drug particles to form slow-dissolving injection site depots, which Novo intends to use to extend dosing windows to monthly and quarterly frequencies. The financial terms include 615 million euros, equivalent to $700 million, in upfront payments and development and regulatory milestones, alongside 550 million euros, or $626 million, tied to sales milestones. Neither company disclosed the specific size of the upfront cash payment. The pact follows recent disclosures from Novo's chief scientific officer Martin Holst Lange regarding plans to initiate human dosing for a once-monthly candidate over the next year.
Eli Lilly Partners With InnoCare in Licensing Deal Worth Up to $3.35 Billion
Eli Lilly has agreed to pay up to $3.35 billion to partner with Beijing-based InnoCare Pharma on five drug discovery targets. Lilly is committing $100 million in upfront and near-term payments to fund the research, backed by another $3.25 billion in development and commercial milestones. InnoCare will also receive single-digit tiered royalties on annual net sales for any products that reach the market. The collaboration will deploy InnoCare's proprietary drug discovery platform against up to five targets spanning cancer and autoimmune diseases, though the partners have not disclosed specific indications. The alliance represents the latest cross-border licensing pact for InnoCare, following prior agreements with Biogen and Zenas BioSciences. For Lilly, the deal adds to a 2026 and licensing spending spree estimated above $32 billion, driven by surging sales of its weight-loss and diabetes treatments.
Boryung Signs $277 Million Anticancer Drug Supply Deal in China
Boryung has signed a seven-year agreement worth $277.14 million to supply the cancer drug Taxotere to Yifan Pharmaceutical in China. The contract marks the largest supply deal in the South Korean drugmaker's history. The agreement includes minimum annual purchase commitments and compensation provisions for shortfalls, providing multi-year visibility. Boryung will initially supply the drug through existing manufacturing arrangements before transferring production to its Yesan Campus in Korea, a transition that requires technology transfers and regulatory approvals. China represents the largest market by sales among the countries covered by Boryung's of Taxotere's global business from Sanofi. Yifan Pharmaceutical manufactures and markets drugs in China, including sales of the Roche-originated cancer drug Xeloda. Boryung Chief Strategy Officer Kim Sung-jin stated that the long-term demand base demonstrates the translation of its global essential medicines business into actual revenue. Boryung aims to surpass 300 billion won in global sales by 2030 through brand acquisitions, manufacturing internalization, and expanded contract manufacturing operations.
State of Florida Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Eli Lilly, Sanofi, and CVS
The State of Florida filed an lawsuit against Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi on September 22, 2026, alleging that the major drug manufacturers colluded with pharmacy benefit managers to inflate diabetes medication prices. The complaint, lodged in Florida's 11th Judicial Circuit in Miami-Dade County by Attorney General James Uthmeier, also names CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and OptumRx, alongside rebate aggregators Zinc, Ascent, and Emisar, and UnitedHealthcare Insurance. The defendant manufacturers supply more than 90% of the world's insulin, while the targeted pharmacy benefit managers process about 80% of U.S. prescriptions. According to the state's filing, drugmakers deliberately drove up published list prices for insulin and medications like Ozempic, Trulicity, Victoza, and Soliqua, subsequently returning substantial rebates to the benefit managers to secure preferred formulary placement. Uthmeier cited previous executive testimony revealing that Eli Lilly returns roughly $210, or about 75%, of a $280 vial of Humalog to benefit managers and aggregators. Uninsured patients, those meeting deductibles, and consumers on percentage-based coinsurance absorb these elevated sticker prices rather than the negotiated net prices, leaving approximately 2.3 million Florida adults with diabetes vulnerable to heavy financial strain. The lawsuit brings two counts under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and one count under the Florida Antitrust Act, seeking permanent injunctions, civil penalties, and damages.
Genentech Inks $1.5B Licensing Deal with Earendil for Bispecific Antibodies
Genentech is paying $55 million upfront in a licensing pact with Earendil Labs to discover and develop bispecific antibody cancer therapies. The heavily backloaded agreement could exceed $1.5 billion through development, regulatory, and sales milestones. Earendil will lead antibody discovery and early clinical research for pre-agreed target combinations, while Genentech takes charge of global clinical development and commercialization. Earendil could also receive tiered royalties on net product sales. Last year, Genentech parent Roche generated CHF 4.1 billion, or $4.95 billion, from its eye disease antibody Vabysmo. Earendil raised $787 million in a private funding round in March.
Roche Enters $2 Billion Drug Discovery Partnership With Atavistik
Roche is paying Atavistik Bio $70 million upfront in a drug discovery partnership valued at up to $2 billion. The Swiss pharma group will Atavistik's metabolite-protein screening platform to target cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic diseases. Atavistik will lead initial research and discovery work, while Roche handles subsequent preclinical, clinical, and commercialization phases. The agreement includes an additional $1.9 billion in potential milestone payments alongside tiered royalties. The deal expands Roche's recent push into cardiometabolic indications following its $2.7 billion of Carmot Therapeutics and a transaction valued up to $3.5 billion for 89bio.
Legend Biotech Reports Five-Year CARVYKTI Data in Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma
Legend Biotech announced five-year follow-up data from CARTITUDE-2 Cohort A evaluating CARVYKTI in 20 patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma after one to three prior lines of therapy. Five years after a single infusion, 10 of 20 patients remained alive and progression-free without maintenance therapy. The data showed a median progression-free survival of 60.5 months after a median follow-up of 60.7 months. Overall survival at five years reached 69.2 percent, while median overall survival was not reached at the time of analysis. The findings were presented at the International Myeloma Society Annual Meeting in Glasgow, Scotland. Since the previous analysis at approximately 30 months, one patient developed acute myeloid leukemia and two deaths occurred due to progressive disease and new cancer. No new CAR T-cell-related neurotoxicity was reported during the extended follow-up.
Heavy upfront investments in biotech partnerships show top drugmakers aggressively filling their pipelines across oncology and cardiometabolic fields. However, legal challenges against insulin pricing structures threaten to disrupt industry practices and revenue models.
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