How Vast Is the Regional Difference Between Biotechnology Acquirers?

Biotechnology acquisition is now a global strategy, but the U.S., Europe and Asia are not buying biotech companies for exactly the same reasons.

In 2025, biopharma M&A activity accelerated sharply. IQVIA recorded four biopharma acquisitions worth at least $10 billion, compared with none above $5 billion in 2024. The largest included Johnson & Johnson’s $14.6 billion acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapies, Novartis’ $12.7 billion Avidity deal and Merck’s $11.1 billion Verona Pharma acquisition.

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The regional difference matters because an asset attractive to a U.S. pharma buyer may have a different strategic value for a Swiss, German, Japanese or Chinese buyer.

What Is Driving Biotechnology Acquisitions?

The major driver is pipeline replacement.

Large pharmaceutical companies are using acquisitions and licensing to obtain:

• Late-stage clinical assets
• Commercial-stage products
• Novel drug platforms
• Oncology technologies
• Rare-disease programs
• RNA and gene-based technologies
• Metabolic and obesity assets
• Antibody-drug conjugates
• Cell and gene therapies

The shift is increasingly toward fewer, larger and strategically important transactions rather than simply increasing the number of acquisitions. In the first half of 2025, more than 280 biopharma M&A transactions were recorded, the highest first-half count since 2020.

How Large Is the Regional Difference?

The regional gap is substantial.

McKinsey estimates that in 2025:

• Americas: $272 billion, representing 73% of total life sciences deal value
• EMEA: $62 billion, representing 17%
• Asia-Pacific: $38 billion, representing 10%

This means the Americas generated more than four times the deal value of EMEA and more than seven times APAC.

However, country-level data shows a more diversified picture. In H1 2025, the U.S. represented 33% of acquisition value, Germany 21% and Switzerland 19% among acquiring-country headquarters.

Regional and Country Acquisition Data

The 73% figure refers to the Americas, not the U.S. alone. The U.S. country-level figure is 33%. This distinction is important when evaluating regional acquisition strength.

What Are U.S. Biotechnology Acquirers Doing?

U.S.-based pharmaceutical companies are using acquisitions to strengthen commercial portfolios and late-stage pipelines.

Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson acquired Intra-Cellular Therapies for $14.6 billion in January 2025.

The acquisition added Caplyta, an FDA-approved CNS drug, along with clinical-stage programs. It was the largest biopharma acquisition announced in 2025 at that point.

J&J subsequently continued its biotech acquisition activity, including its $3.1 billion acquisition of Halda Therapeutics, adding a Phase 1/2 prostate cancer program.

This shows a strategy combining commercial-stage revenue with earlier pipeline optionality.

Merck & Co.

Merck acquired UK-based Verona Pharma for approximately $10 billion, adding Ohtuvayre for COPD.

Merck also acquired Cidara Therapeutics for approximately $9.2 billion and has been using targeted transactions to strengthen its pipeline as Keytruda approaches major patent expirations.

The strategy is particularly relevant because Keytruda generated $31.7 billion in 2025, making pipeline replacement a major strategic priority.

Pfizer

Pfizer agreed to acquire Metsera for approximately $10 billion, following competition with Novo Nordisk.

The transaction demonstrates how strategically important the obesity and metabolic disease pipeline has become for major pharmaceutical buyers.

What Are European Acquirers Doing?

European buyers are increasingly looking toward U.S. biotechnology companies for innovative assets.

Novartis

Swiss-based Novartis agreed to acquire Avidity Biosciences for approximately $12.7 billion.

The transaction gives Novartis access to Avidity’s antibody oligonucleotide conjugate platform and late-stage neuromuscular programs.

This illustrates a European buyer using U.S. biotech acquisitions to obtain platform technology plus pipeline depth.

Sanofi

French pharmaceutical company Sanofi agreed to acquire Blueprint Medicines for up to approximately $9.5 billion.

Blueprint brought Ayvakit and additional clinical programs in rare disease and immunology.

Sanofi also acquired several smaller biotech companies during 2025, including Dren Bio, Vigil Neuroscience and Vicebio, demonstrating a broader bolt-on acquisition strategy.

Merck KGaA

Germany’s Merck KGaA acquired U.S. biotech SpringWorks Therapeutics for approximately $3.9 billion.

The transaction strengthened its rare-cancer portfolio and added Gomekli, an FDA-approved therapy.

What Is China Doing Differently?

China is becoming increasingly important not only as a biotech market but as a source of assets for global pharmaceutical companies.

In 2025, approximately 38% of big-pharma deals and 28% of upfront payments in the cited DealForma analysis involved Chinese biopharma companies.

China is particularly relevant in:

• Oncology
• Antibody therapies
• Immunology
• Metabolic disease
• Novel biologics
• Small-molecule innovation

This means global buyers increasingly need to monitor Chinese biotechnology companies before assets reach late-stage valuation levels.

What Are Japanese Acquirers Doing?

Japanese companies have generally followed a more selective acquisition approach, but cross-border activity is increasing.

Japanese buyers are increasingly interested in earlier-stage and specialized assets, including metabolic disease, dermatology, ophthalmology and infectious disease.

The acquisition of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma by Bain Capital for approximately $3.4 billion was one of Japan’s notable pharmaceutical transactions in 2025.

This makes Japan strategically different from U.S. buyers that have recently made several multibillion-dollar acquisitions of commercial or late-stage assets.

Company Comparison

Deal values are reported total/announced values and can include milestone or contingent payments depending on the transaction.

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What Are the Main Targets Buyers Want?

The strongest acquisition targets increasingly combine clinical validation, differentiated technology and future commercial potential.

Buyers are particularly looking for:

• Phase 2 and Phase 3 assets
• Commercial-stage products
• Platforms with multiple potential indications
• Strong patent protection
• Large or expanding patient populations
• Differentiated mechanisms
• Clear regulatory pathways
• Attractive clinical data
• Existing manufacturing capabilities
• Technology that can be applied across multiple programs

The 2025 transactions show this clearly. J&J bought a commercial CNS product, Novartis bought a late-stage RNA platform, Merck bought a respiratory product and Sanofi bought a rare-disease franchise.

Who Are the Actual Buyers?

Big Pharma

Companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Pfizer, Novartis and Sanofi are using acquisitions to fill pipeline gaps and enter high-growth therapeutic areas.

Biotechnology Companies

Larger biotechnology companies are acquiring smaller companies to obtain specific technologies, clinical programs or complementary platforms.

Private Equity

Private equity is also becoming an important buyer category. McKinsey estimates that private equity accounted for approximately 25% of life sciences deal value in 2025.

Strategic Licensing Buyers

Not every opportunity results in an acquisition. Large pharmaceutical companies increasingly use licensing and partnerships to access biotech innovation while reducing the capital and integration risk of a full takeover.

Where Are the Main Opportunities?

United States

The U.S. remains the most important biotechnology target ecosystem because it combines:

Large biotech concentration + venture funding + clinical infrastructure + pharmaceutical buyers + commercialization capabilities.

It is also attracting major European buyers. Novartis, Sanofi and Merck KGaA all made significant acquisitions of U.S. biotechnology companies in 2025.

Europe

Europe remains important for rare disease, oncology, immunology and specialty therapeutics.

Germany and Switzerland were particularly strong acquiring countries in H1 2025, accounting for 21% and 19% of acquisition value, respectively.

China

China is becoming a major source of licensing opportunities and innovative biotech assets.

The growth in Chinese-originated deals means global pharmaceutical leaders need to monitor Chinese biotech pipelines, clinical data and intellectual property much earlier.

Japan

Japan provides opportunities for specialized and earlier-stage assets, with Japanese buyers increasingly using cross-border deals to strengthen their pipelines.

What Companies Should Focus On

Biotechnology and pharmaceutical leaders should move beyond simply tracking who acquired whom.

They should track:

• Which countries have the most active buyers
• Which companies have acquisition capacity
• Which therapeutic areas each buyer is targeting
• Preferred clinical stage
• Typical deal size
• Acquisition versus licensing preference
• Patent and exclusivity timelines
• R&D investment
• Previous acquisition patterns
• Regional expansion priorities
• Technology platforms attracting multiple buyers
• Biotech companies receiving interest from several acquirers

The same biotech asset can have very different strategic value depending on the buyer’s geography, pipeline gaps, financial capacity and therapeutic priorities.

How Towards Healthcare Research & Consulting Can Help

Towards Healthcare helps pharma and biotech leaders track acquirers, deals, pipelines, investments, target companies, buyers, regional opportunities and competitor moves.

• Acquirer intelligence
• M&A and licensing activity
• Buyer identification
• Target company intelligence
• Pipeline and technology intelligence
• Investment and deal tracking
• Regional opportunities
• Competitor acquisition strategies
• Therapeutic-area priorities
• Strategic consulting

The goal is simple: identify who is buying, what they want, where they are investing and which opportunities companies should act on.