Pharma Monthly – January 2026

January 2026 kicked off the year with a wave of strategic deals, manufacturing investments, and late-stage clinical progress across the pharma and biotech sector. Companies expanded oncology, immunology, obesity, and rare disease pipelines through acquisitions and licensing agreements, while large-scale R&D and production investments underscored a continued focus on capacity and geographic expansion. Alongside these moves, regulatory alignment on AI and shifting biotech funding dynamics highlighted the evolving operating environment shaping pharma strategy at the start of the year.

✅AbbVie reaches agreement for affordable prescription drugs with US government

The pharma company has also pledged a $100bn investment in US infrastructure over the next decade

✅AbbVie licenses novel bispecific antibody from RemeGen for $5bn

New deal strengthens AbbVie’s oncology portfolio, adding a new class of cancer therapeutics to its inventory.

✅Amgen acquires UK cancer biotech Dark Blue Therapeutics for $840m

Gains access to the company’s small molecule-targeted protein degraders to expand its oncology pipeline.

✅ AstraZeneca pours $15bn into Chinese R&D and manufacturing operations

This investment coincides with China’s burgeoning presence in the pharmaceutical industry, driven by an uptick in innovative medicines R&D.

✅AstraZeneca and CSPC Pharmaceuticals enter collaboration on weight management therapies

Almost three billion people globally are thought to be either overweight or obese

✅Eli Lilly outlays $1.12bn for hearing loss gene therapy partnership

Lilly and German biotech Seamless Therapeutics will develop recombinase-based treatments for hearing loss.

✅Eli Lilly selects Pennsylvania for $3.5bn manufacturing site of obesity drugs

Historically a steel production hub, Lehigh Valley will now help manufacture Lilly’s weight loss drug hopeful retatrutide.

✅Eli Lilly announces acquisition of Ventyx Biosciences for around $1.2bn

Multiple Ventyx drugs are currently in phase 2 development for inflammatory disease

✅Genentech reports positive trial results for obesity treatment

The treatment is designed to tackle obesity by reducing appetite and regulating blood sugar

✅Genentech doubles investment in North Carolina manufacturing facility

The East Coast expansion is part of the biopharma firm’s $50 billion investment in its US manufacturing and R&D capabilities.

✅GSK’s Arexvy RSV vaccine receives expanded EC approval for use in adults

RSV affects approximately 64 million people around the world each year

✅GSK acquires RAPT Therapeutics for $2.2bn

The acquisition will strengthen GSK’s immunology pipeline, which is a key area of focus for the pharma company

✅Johnson & Johnson’s Caplyta demonstrates phase III promise for depression

Combination therapy comprising of an antidepressant and small molecule drug significantly boosted remission rates in adults with major depressive disorder.

✅Johnson & Johnson reports 9.1% increase in sales for Q4 2025

For the entire year, sales grew by 6% to $94.2bn, and full-year earnings per share registered at $11.03.

✅Moderna and Recordati collaborate on rare disease mRNA therapy

License agreement set to advance mRNA-3927, a potential disease modifying therapy for the rare metabolic disorder propionic acidemia.

✅Moderna-Merck & Co cancer vaccine with Keytruda shows late-stage promise

New phase IIb data highlights the combination’s potential to offer improved efficiency to high-risk melanoma patients.

✅MSD ends takeover talks with Revolution Medicines

The two companies reportedly could not agree on a price, leaving pharma’s first potential megadeal of 2026 on ice.

✅Novartis to build fourth US radioligand therapy facility in Florida

The new purpose-built facility is scheduled to become operational by 2029.

✅Novo Nordisk and Aspect Biosystems expand collaboration on diabetes research

The companies are working together on cellular medicines to boost, replace or repair biological functions

✅Novo Nordisk Foundation pours $850m into European life sciences economy

The funding aims to encourage innovation in Europe amid concerns that innovation across the continent is lagging behind China and the US.

✅Pfizer and Novavax ink $530m vaccine delivery licensing deal

Pfizer will now employ Novavax’s adjuvant, Matrix-M, into its vaccines across two disease areas.

✅Sanofi and Earendil Labs forge $2.56bn autoimmune deal

GlobalData analyst Vasilis Roumpelakis notes that bispecifics could hold strong potential in the future, but manufacturing and payer acceptance challenges remain.

Macro Developments

✅FDA and EMA release collaborative AI framework for drug development

The joint guidance was created to ensure drug developers employ best practices when using AI.

✅JPM26: GSK banks on recent AI deals to offset patent expiries

GSK noted recent deals as source of fresh revenues amid patent expiries and an AI-driven boost to drug discovery.

✅ JPM26: J&J leans on immunology launches to fuel annual growth

Tremfya and Icotyde are touted as key growth drivers in J&J’s strongly performing innovative medicines business.

✅Automation joins AI and cybersecurity as digital priorities for Indian pharma

But the sector’s digital transformation ambitions within their quality functions have only been partially realised.

✅UK biotechs suffered restricted financing in 2025

Despite a lacklustre year for UK biotech funding, M&A pickup and trade deals could drive growth rebound.