Life science news 29 June 2026: AbbVie and Merck KGaA announce blockbuster acquisitions totalling more than $22 billion, NICE recommends the first disease-modifying therapy for type 1 diabetes for NHS use, and Definium Therapeutics delivers a landmark Phase 3 result for a lysergide treatment in major depression in a significant week for pharma, biotech and healthcare.
AbbVie agreed to acquire Apogee Therapeutics for approximately $10.9 billion in an all-cash deal announced on 22 June, adding Apogee’s pipeline of clinical-stage inflammatory and immunological disease programmes to its immunology portfolio. Under the terms of the transaction, AbbVie will pay $135.11 per share, a premium of approximately 49% to Apogee’s closing price on 18 June. The deal centres on zumilokibart (APG777), a late-stage, half-life extended subcutaneous monoclonal antibody targeting IL-13 in Phase 3 development for atopic dermatitis, as well as APG273, a combination candidate targeting IL-13 and TSLP being developed for asthma. AbbVie said the acquisition would deepen its leadership in inflammatory disease and accelerate its presence in respiratory care. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to Apogee shareholder approval and regulatory clearance.
Merck KGaA agreed to acquire Bio-Techne Corporation for approximately $11.3 billion in cash on 25 June, paying $73 per share and representing a 36% premium to Bio-Techne’s one-month volume-weighted average trading price. The deal is Merck KGaA’s largest acquisition since its $17 billion purchase of Sigma-Aldrich in 2015 and its third-largest ever, and is expected to close by late 2026 or early 2027. Minneapolis-based Bio-Techne is a global provider of life science tools, analytical technologies and consumables, supplying reagents, proteins, antibodies, spatial multiomics platforms and cell therapy production materials to researchers and drug developers. Merck KGaA, which is unrelated to US-based Merck and Co, said the deal would broaden its offerings, accelerate its innovation pipeline, and increase Bio-Techne’s geographic reach. Annual cost synergies of approximately EUR 140 million are expected to be fully realised by year three post-closing.
NICE recommended teplizumab (Tzield, Sanofi) for use on the NHS in England and Wales on 23 June, marking the first disease-modifying therapy recommended for use through a health technology appraisal in Europe, with England the first country on the continent to do so. The recommendation, published as final draft guidance, covers children aged eight and over and adults with stage 2 (pre-symptomatic) type 1 diabetes, in whom the immune system has begun attacking insulin-producing beta cells but no symptoms requiring insulin have yet appeared. Clinical evidence reviewed by NICE showed teplizumab can delay the onset of symptomatic type 1 diabetes by an average of nearly three years. The drug is given as a single 14-day course of once-daily intravenous infusions, and around 1,100 patients are expected to be eligible in the first year. NHS patients in England will gain access within 90 days of NICE’s final guidance publication. Patients in Wales will be able to access it within 60 days of 23 June 2026. Helen Knight, Director of Medicines evaluation at NICE, described the recommendation as “a genuinely exciting” development for the type 1 diabetes community.
In further life science news 29 June 2026, the week also brought a significant Phase 3 setback for Pfizer’s lung cancer ADC programme, a regulatory setback for a closely watched smoking cessation candidate, a landmark psychedelic therapy readout in major depression, and a critical House of Lords session examining NHS medicine uptake in England.
Definium Therapeutics announced positive topline results from the Phase 3 Emerge study of DT120 (lysergide) orally disintegrating tablet in adults with major depressive disorder on 22 June, in what the company described as the first positive pivotal study for a lysergide-based therapy. The trial met its primary endpoint, with participants who received a single 100 micrograms dose showing a least-squares mean change from baseline in the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale total score of -13.3 points at week six, compared with -5.2 for placebo, a statistically significant difference of -8.1 points (p<0.0001). All key secondary efficacy endpoints were also met, and DT120 was generally well tolerated with no serious adverse events reported. Definium, formerly known as MindMed and rebranded in January 2026, said it plans to proceed towards an NDA submission following these results. A second Phase 3 study, Ascend, is ongoing, with topline results expected in 2027.
Pfizer reported that sigvotatug vedotin did not meet its primary endpoint in the Phase 3 SigVie-002 study in previously treated metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer, announcing topline results on 22 June. The trial enrolled 703 adults who had received one or more prior lines of therapy, and in the overall study population sigvotatug vedotin, an investigational integrin beta-6 directed antibody-drug conjugate, did not demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in overall survival compared to docetaxel. Pfizer noted that in the subset of patients who had received only one prior line of systemic therapy, representing around two-thirds of the study population, a stronger trend was observed for overall survival and progression-free survival with the ADC. The company said it is evaluating further development of sigvotatug vedotin in other studies, including a Phase 3 trial assessing the drug alongside pembrolizumab in first-line non-small cell lung cancer in patients with high PD-L1 expression.
The FDA issued a Complete Response Letter for cytisinicline, a plant-derived alkaloid candidate for smoking cessation developed by Achieve Life Sciences, on 22 June, citing deficiencies at a third-party manufacturing facility and incomplete final product labelling as of the agency’s action date. No deficiencies in clinical efficacy or safety data were identified. The company had anticipated the letter, having flagged in April 2026 that it expected to receive a Complete Response Letter on or before its 20 June PDUFA date and had already transitioned manufacturing to US-based Adare Pharma Solutions as its new primary commercial partner. Achieve said it plans to resubmit the NDA in the fourth quarter of 2026, with potential FDA approval in the first half of 2027. If eventually approved, cytisinicline would be the first new pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation in the US since varenicline received FDA clearance in 2006.
NICE Chief Executive Jonathan Benger told the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee on 24 June that NHS implementation of NICE recommendations is “not joined up enough”, with new medicines not universally provided within the mandated 90-day funding window following approval. The comments came during a committee session on personalised medicine and AI, at which committee member Lord Drayson raised the argument that NICE’s methods had contributed to the UK’s relative decline as an early adopter of innovative medicines. Benger rejected the direct causal link to NICE’s methods, but acknowledged that variation in patient access to approved medicines across England remains a problem. In response, an NHS spokesperson said the health service is developing a single national formulary intended to deliver fairer access and faster uptake of approved medicines across England. The ABPI said that only 27% of local formularies are updated to include new medicines within 90 days of NICE guidance, and called for a more coordinated approach to overcome financial and practical barriers to adoption.
Pharma and biotech dealmaking in the first half of 2026 surpassed the full-year total for 2025 by the end of June, with 33 biotech acquisitions valued at $1 billion or more announced, and total spending by pharmaceutical companies and large biotechs reaching approximately $134 billion in the first half of the year, compared with $112 billion across all of 2025. According to a mid-year report from PwC, deal value in the first quarter of 2026 was the strongest since 2020, driven by a combination of patent cliff pressure, recovering biotech valuations, and abundant strategic capital. The AbbVie and Merck KGaA transactions announced this week bring the total for the half-year to a figure not seen since the pre-Covid era. PwC’s midyear analysis notes that large pharma companies are prioritising smaller, bespoke acquisitions of platforms and late-stage pipeline assets across oncology, immunology, and cardiometabolic disease over transformative mega-mergers, with the sweet spot for most buyers in the $1 billion to $5 billion range.
That’s your life science news digest for 29 June 2026, back next Monday with the latest from pharma, biotech and healthcare at www.lifesciencedaily.news. Catch up on the 22 June news roundup.
All content is published for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical, legal, or investment advice. For more information, see our Terms and Conditions.
