It's the biggest life sciences private fund ever raised, coming in nearly 40% larger than its Blackstone predecessor vehicle.

Original title: “Blackstone closes $6.3B fund for life sciences investing”

Tyvaso, a marketed PAH therapy from United Therapeutics, continued to show potential in another lung condition. Elsewhere, Aurinia inked an acquisition and Lilly built its case for Ebglyss.

Original title: “United rises on IPF data; Biogen scores positive lupus data and an approval”

Serial biotech investor Kevin Tang previously unsuccessfully tried to buy Kezar Life Sciences via Concentra Biosciences, a biotech consolidation company owned by the venture capital firm he runs.

Original title: “After Missing Kezar Buyout in 2024, Tang Returns as CEO of Aurinia With $50M Offer”

A collaboration “across multiple therapeutic areas” could net the Hong Kong-based biotech more than $2 billion as Lilly seeks to sustain its industry lead.

Original title: “Lilly’s AI commitment expands through deal with Insilico”

Takeda’s layoffs include cutting 247 people in Massachusetts. The workforce reduction is meant to help offset investments in areas including a product launch for oral drug candidate zasocitinib, for which the pharma today announced positive Phase 3 data.

Original title: “Takeda Restructuring Could Push More Than 600 US Staffers Out of Jobs”

Analysts are cautiously optimistic about an IPO rebound for biopharma. BioSpace is keeping track of companies that seek to trade on the public markets this year. The Massachusetts biotech plans to use much of the IPO raise for its lead asset GB-0985, an anti-TSLP antibody, through the completion of two late-stage studies in severe asthma. Generate has earmarked around $300 million for this. Meanwhile, roughly $100 million will help power a Phase 1b study for the asset in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The Belgium biotech will trade under the symbol AGMB upon completion. Around $120 million of the proceeds will help bankroll clinical development of the small-molecule ALK5 blocker ontunisertib, which is being tested for fibrostenosing Crohn’s disease. The drug is currently in Phase 2a development and a Phase 2b trial is set to start later this year. The IPO haul will help AgomAb push ontunisertib through the latter study. Still, Rachlin was optimistic about the market’s prospects in 2026, noting that IPOs will continue to be a crucial part of the biopharma industry, offering companies a robust way to raise funds to support their pipelines. “The development and commercialization of novel and innovative drugs will continue to be a cornerstone of health and wellness, and a robust IPO market will continue to be an important factor for drug innovators to access capital and liquidity,” Rachlin said. Follow along as BioSpace tracks the IPO landscape in 2026. ... Kailera Therapeutics, the obesity biotech that in 2025 raised one of the biggest rounds in recent memory, is heading for the public markets. Kailera emerged in October 2024 with $400 million in funding, then followed that up with $600 million more in a series B raise. Raise: $400 million Public market debut: Feb. 27 · Flagship Pioneering’s Generate:Biomedicines is debuting on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on Feb. 27, bringing with it $400 million in gross proceeds—the largest biotech IPO haul since 2024, according to the biotech’s news release on Friday.

Original title: “IPO Tracker 2026: Biotech Mega-Rounder Kailera Seeks IPO”

The company, led by Ron Renaud, raised $1 billion in venture funding to develop a competitor to Wegovy and Zepbound that’s now in late-stage testing.

Original title: “Obesity drugmaker Kailera plans an IPO”

The Insilico Medicine agreement plays into Eli Lilly’s recent AI push, anchored by a partnership last year with NVIDIA to build a supercomputer to optimize drug discovery and shorten the development timeline.

Original title: “Lilly Doubles Down on Insilico’s AI Medicines, Bets Up to $2.75B”

AbbVie’s Skyrizi appears to have stronger efficacy than Johnson & Johnson’s newly approved pill Icotyde, as well as a less frequent dosing schedule that patients could prefer, according to analysts at BMO Capital Markets.

Original title: “As J&J Brings Icotyde to Market, AbbVie Remains Confident in Skyrizi’s Efficacy Edge”

AI can accelerate clinical work and preserve traceability, but only if users can trust it.

Original title: “Trustworthy AI in clinical oversight”

The FDA has some big verdicts lined up in the second quarter, including one for a closely watched obesity drug that many anticipate will further intensify competition in weight loss.

Original title: “6 FDA Decisions To Watch in Q2 2026”

The buyout, which includes another $525 million in floated payouts, hands Otsuka a medicine it sees as a possibly “paradigm-shifting therapy” in psychiatry.

Original title: “Otsuka picks up PTSD drug with $700M Transcend buy”

Worth up to $2 billion, the deal is centered around a drug that could lead to faster and more complete control of allergic conditions than Novartis and Roche’s popular medicine.

Original title: “Novartis targets Xolair successor in buyout of startup Excellergy”

BIO-Europe Spring 2026 brought together more than 3,700 innovators in the life sciences industry all under the same roof. Another biotech at BIO-Europe Spring 2026 that was a part of the discussion was Milan-based AAVantgarde Bio, which scored $141 million in a series B funding round in November 2025 to fund two gene therapies AAVB-039 for Stargardt disease and AAVB-081 for Usher syndrome, both of which are rare diseases, the latter characterized by combined hearing and vision loss as well as balance issues. As a space for partnerships to forge, most, if not all the biotechs at BIO-Europe Spring 2026 were there seeking licensing deals and funding. While mergers and acquisitions (M&As) were part of the biopharma scene in 2025, albeit not thriving, the funding landscape in general has not been considered favourable over the past few years. Another biotech in the neurology space at BIO-Europe Spring 2026 was Prosperodes, but both its R&D and partnering goals were different from that of Vesper’s. To end the need for better biomarkers to diagnose neurodegenerative diseases, Prosperodes has built a technology platform over the past three years. Meanwhile, in women’s health and gynaecological care, Hungarian pharmaceutical company Gedeon Richter is eyeing innovation and collaborations to address female fertility, uterine fibroids, endometriosis, female contraception, infectious disease, and hormone replacement therapy (HRT). It has tapped Swiss biotech FimmCyte to potentially begin first-in-human trials to treat the root cause of endometriosis, a chronic, often painful disease where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus.

Original title: “BIO-Europe Spring 2026: partnership event brings funding hope to biotechs”

The Excellergy acquisition will complement Novartis’ existing allergy profile, anchored by the IgE blocker Xolair that in February 2024 was approved to treat food allergies in children and adults.

Original title: “Novartis Keeps Deals Coming With $2B Excellergy Takeover”

Some investors and analysts believe the pharma’s $6.7 billion offer is justified given Terns’ recent stock run. Others are convinced a better proposal is coming.

Original title: “Merck’s deal for Terns sparks debate over a possible biotech bidding war”

Beam is now in the strongest position of all companies advancing a genetic therapy for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, according to analysts at William Blair.

Original title: “Beam’s Base Editor Advances to Pivotal Development on Back of ‘Impressive’ AATD Data”

Biomarker data for Sarepta Therapeutics’ RNA programs, licensed from Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, are “competitive” and “strong,” according to analysts at Jefferies, which projected over $1 billion in peak sales.

Original title: “Sarepta Pushes Past Gene Therapy Debacle as RNA Therapies Show Early Promise”