Key highlights from August:
- Micro-cap biotechs ($50mm-$500mm) have continued to outperform their larger peers, while specialty pharma and large-cap names have also exceled over the last month
- Licensing activity decreased in August while M&A remained flat; 7 M&A and 18 licensing transactions were announced this month, versus 8 M&A and 27 licensing transactions announced in July of 2025, with XOMA Royalty acquiring three negative-EV biotechs – illustrating a trend of consolidation among publicly listed biotech companies trading below cash.
- Six high-value licensing deals exceeded $1bn, all of which focused on preclinical assets with the exception of AbbVie’s acquisition of Gilgamesh’s phase 2 candidate indicated in MDD
- IPO markets remained quiet, with preclinical inflammation-focused biotech Curanex pricing their IPO late in the month at an offer price of $4.00 per share, the low end of its range; the company raised $15mm in gross proceeds and has traded up ~70% since IPO
- Follow-on activity slid to 14 priced deals in August raising an aggregate of $841mm down from $2.2bn in July, led by Assembly’s $175mm offering
- Just weeks after the announcement of his resignation, Vinay Prasad returned to his role as director of CBER earlier this month, with the support of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary
- Viking Therapeutics’ shares tumbled this month despite its oral small molecule GLP-1/GIP agonist achieving directionally positive results, with critics citing a high discontinuation rate and frequent GI adverse events
