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Upfront Briefing
Two very normal ways to kick off April: Lilly agreed to acquire Centessa in a deal worth up to $7.8B around its orexin pipeline, and Biogen struck a $5.6B deal for Apellis to add commercial rare-disease assets in nephrology and ophthalmology.
And just to make sure large-cap pharma didn’t leave any dry powder idle, Merck also added antibody-discovery optionality in a new up-to-$838M pact with Infinimmune — another reminder that headline M&A and steady BD&L are running in parallel.
Tape Action
| Instrument |
Last close |
1D % |
YTD % |
| S&P 500 |
6,528.5 |
+2.9% |
(4.6%) |
| Nasdaq 100 |
23,740.2 |
+3.4% |
(5.8%) |
| Russell 2000 |
2,496.4 |
+3.4% |
+0.6% |
| Healthcare (XLV) |
146.6 |
+1.9% |
(5.3%) |
| Biotech (XBI) |
127.7 |
+7.5% |
+5.1% |
| Nasdaq Biotech (NBI) |
5,839.4 |
+4.6% |
+2.3% |
| Clinical Trials (BBC) |
41.6 |
+7.7% |
+10.6% |
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- Broad risk rallied hard as hopes of Middle East de-escalation and a pullback in oil prices eased the market’s inflation/growth scare, lifting the S&P 500 +2.9% and Russell 2000 +3.4%.
- Biotech beta outperformed the tape: XBI +7.5% and BBC +7.7% ripped as Lilly/Centessa and Biogen/Apellis reinforced the scarcity-value and takeout optionality bid across small- and mid-cap biotech.
- Market data: U.S. close Tue 31-Mar-2026.
The Big 3
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1
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Lilly agrees up-to-$7.8B Centessa deal; orexin optionality in focus
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- Lilly agreed to acquire Centessa in a deal worth up to $7.8B, paying $38/share in cash plus a $9/share CVR tied to future milestones. The strategic center of gravity is cleminorexton and Centessa’s broader orexin 2 receptor agonist portfolio, extending Lilly into sleep-wake disorders beyond its current metabolic leadership.
- Why it matters: This is not just another takeout premium — it is a real valuation marker for orexin biology. Lilly is underwriting mid-stage clinical risk in narcolepsy/idiopathic hypersomnia and paying for platform optionality beyond the first indication, which raises the bar for how public markets should think about other OX2R names. For investors, the read-through is that differentiated CNS assets with credible human efficacy signals can still clear at multi-billion-dollar values even before pivotal data.
- Source: Reuters
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2
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Biogen to buy Apellis in $5.6B rare-disease franchise push
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- Biogen agreed to acquire Apellis for roughly $5.6B, paying $41/share in cash plus up to $4/share in CVRs tied to future Syfovre sales thresholds. The deal adds Empaveli in nephrology/hematology and Syfovre in ophthalmology, with the two products generating $689M of 2025 revenue.
- Why it matters: Biogen is buying commercial assets, not blue-sky science. Empaveli strengthens its nephrology call point ahead of late-stage felzartamab, while Syfovre gives it a second growth engine with milestone-linked upside. For investors, that makes this a cleaner revenue-durability plus franchise-adjacency transaction than the current copy implies — and a reminder that de-risked rare-disease and specialty assets can still command full strategic prices even after operating turbulence.
- Source: Reuters
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3
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Merck adds antibody-discovery optionality in up-to-$838M Infinimmune pact
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- Merck entered a multi-target antibody discovery and development collaboration with Infinimmune worth up to about $838M in milestones, extending the company’s recent March deal streak beyond outright M&A.
- Why it matters: The investor signal is capital allocation discipline. After buying Terns and amid persistent externalization needs ahead of Keytruda LOE, Merck is still using sub-scale discovery deals to seed future pipeline shots on goal without taking full balance-sheet risk upfront. That supports the read-through that large-cap pharma is likely to keep layering BD&L on top of headline M&A rather than treating the two as substitutes.
- Source: Reuters
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Everything Else that broke
- HHS unveils MANA plan. — BioCentury
- AskBio completes enrollment in Phase 2 GenePHIT study of AB-1002 in non-ischemic cardiomyopathy / NYHA class III heart failure. — PR
- Abbisko’s irpagratinib wins EMA orphan designation in HCC. — PR
- ORIC selects rinzimetostat RP3D for darolutamide combo in Himalayas-1. — PR
- Caris finalizes ACHIEVE-1 results for Caris Detect. — PR
- Zag Bio profile highlights thymus platform and recent $80M Series A. — BioCentury
- AstraZeneca’s Strensiq successor misses a Phase 3 rare-disease goal, denting expansion hopes. — Fierce Biotech
Deal Flow
| BioBucks 2026 Deal Trackers • Updated weekly ⬇️
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M&A / BD&L
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Biogen to buy Apellis in roughly $5.6B cash-and-CVR deal, adding Empaveli and Syfovre. — Reuters
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Lilly to buy Centessa for $38/share cash plus a $9 CVR, valuing the deal at up to $7.8B around its orexin pipeline. — Reuters
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Merck signs up-to-$838M multi-target antibody discovery pact with Infinimmune. — Reuters
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NJ Bio, Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services team up on ADC development support. — PR
VC / Private Financings
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Ambrosia Biosciences raised an oversubscribed $100M Series B to advance an oral small-molecule GLP-1 into the clinic; co-led by Blue Owl Healthcare Opportunities, Redmile and Deep Track Capital, with BVF Partners, Boulder Ventures, Janus Henderson Investors and Samsara BioCapital also participating. — Fierce Biotech
IPOs / Follow-Ons
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Biotech IPOs rebound as AI takes bigger role in R&D. — BioSpace
Things that make you go hmmm ...
Source: Google Finance. Centessa and Apellis one-day moves below.
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That’s it for today — if your Q2 started with two multi-billion takeouts, please forward this email to your board. See you tomorrow. BioBucks Team
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