Weekly Term Sheet: Pharma & Biotech Deals (August 25–28, 2025)

Key Deal Highlights

Mergers & Acquisitions

AbbVie acquires Gilgamesh's lead psychedelic therapy (up to $1.2 billion): AbbVie announced a definitive agreement to acquire Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals' lead asset bretisilocin (GM-2505), an investigational short-acting psychedelic in Phase 2 for major depressive disorder. Under the deal, AbbVie will pay up to $1.2 billion comprising an upfront sum and development milestones. Gilgamesh will spin off its other programs (including an NMDA antagonist and an ibogaine analog) into a new entity as part of the transaction.

This strategic acquisition expands AbbVie's neuroscience pipeline in psychiatry, aiming to advance a novel rapid-acting antidepressant therapy. The deal builds on an existing 2024 collaboration between the companies and is subject to customary closing conditions.

Northwest Bio to acquire Advent BioServices (UK manufacturing arm): U.S.-UK biotech Northwest Biotherapeutics (NWBO) agreed to acquire UK-based Advent BioServices Ltd., its long-time contract manufacturer, to integrate in-house production of its DCVax cancer vaccines. The deal's consideration is modest and structured in installments over two years (starting 90 days post-signing), including a £1.4 million cash payment and assumption of net payable debt owed to Advent. Additional accelerated payments are tied to regulatory approval of NWBO's DCVax-L brain cancer vaccine.

At closing, Advent's assets (GMP facilities, equipment, and 19 million NWBO shares/options previously issued to Advent) will revert to NWBO. This related-party acquisition (Advent's owner Toucan Holdings is affiliated with NWBO's CEO) aims to streamline manufacturing and reduce costs as NWBO prepares for potential commercial scale-up.

Royalty & Revenue Interest Deals

Royalty Pharma buys Amgen's Imdelltra royalty for $950 million: Royalty Pharma announced it will acquire a significant royalty interest in Imdelltra -- Amgen's first-in-class bispecific T-cell engager for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer -- from BeOne Medicines for $885 million upfront. BeOne will retain an option to sell an additional portion of the Imdelltra royalty (worth up to $65 million) to Royalty Pharma within 12 months.

The royalty represents roughly a 7% stream on Imdelltra's global net sales, and the product is forecast to exceed $2.8 billion in annual sales by 2035. Imdelltra was approved by FDA in 2024 for relapsed SCLC and is in Phase 3 trials. This monetization allows BeOne (led by BeiGene co-founder John Oyler) to strengthen its balance sheet while Royalty Pharma adds a high-growth oncology asset to its portfolio. Notably, BeOne retains Chinese commercial rights to Imdelltra even after this transaction.

Strategic R&D Collaborations & Licensing

Novo Nordisk & Replicate in RNA therapeutics pact (up to $550 million): Danish pharma Novo Nordisk is teaming with California-based Replicate Bioscience to develop self-replicating RNA (srRNA) therapies for obesity, diabetes, and other cardiometabolic diseases. Announced August 28, the multi-year research collaboration grants Novo exclusive global rights to any resulting programs, with Replicate receiving an undisclosed upfront payment and milestones totaling up to $550 million, plus potential sales royalties.

Replicate's srRNA platform enables lower-dose, self-amplifying mRNA therapeutics, and its lead srRNA vaccine has shown positive Phase 1 results in rabies. This deal gives Novo access to novel nucleic-acid technology as it looks beyond GLP-1 peptides to maintain its cardiometabolic franchise. The partners did not disclose specific targets, but the collaboration will initially focus on next-generation treatments for obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Venture Financings & Fundraises

Major Rounds Summary

Shattuck Labs -- Private placement up to $103 million: Immunotherapy biotech Shattuck Labs (Nasdaq: STTK) closed a private placement financing for up to $103 million in gross proceeds. The round was led by OrbiMed and included other institutional investors, structured with common shares and warrants. Assuming full exercise of the warrants, the capital is expected to fund Shattuck's operations into 2029 and advance its lead TNF-superfamily antagonist antibody (SL-325) through multiple Phase 2 trials in inflammatory bowel disease and another autoimmune indication.

Alongside the financing, Shattuck added two new board members, including an OrbiMed partner, signaling investor involvement in strategic guidance.

Immuneering -- $25 million PIPE financing: Oncology biotech Immuneering Corp. (Nasdaq: IMRX) raised $25 million in a private placement with "top-tier" institutional investors. The PIPE consisted of ~6.33 million Class A shares (and prefunded warrants) sold at $3.95 per share, plus accompanying five-year warrants for an additional ~2.85 million shares at a $5.50 strike. The pricing represented roughly a 15% premium to Immuneering's prior stock price, reflecting investor confidence.

Proceeds will support development of Immuneering's lead MEK inhibitor (IMM-1-104, "atebimetinib") which is in Phase 2a trials for advanced solid tumors. Leerink Partners acted as financial advisor on the deal.

Wugen – $115 million Series C to advance CAR-T: St. Louis-based Wugen, Inc. secured $115 million in new equity financing to fund its "off-the-shelf" CAR-T program through pivotal trials. Fidelity Management & Research led the large syndicate, joined by RiverVest, Lightchain, LYZZ Capital, Abingworth, Tybourne, ICG, Aisling, and others. Wugen's lead candidate WU-CART-007 (aka soficabtagene geleucel) is an allogeneic CRISPR-edited CD7-targeted CAR-T for T-cell leukemias and lymphomas. It has demonstrated a 91% response rate in Phase 1/2 and is now in a single-arm pivotal trial (T-RRex study) for relapsed/refractory T-ALL/LBL.

The new funding will bankroll this trial through data and regulatory filings; Wugen is targeting a 2027 BLA submission, aiming to deliver the first approved off-the-shelf CAR-T for T-cell malignancies.

Leal Therapeutics -- $30 million Series A round: Leal Therapeutics, a Worcester, MA startup developing "neuro-metabolic" therapies for CNS disorders, raised a $30 million Series A financing to propel its first-in-class programs. The round was led by SV Health's Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF) and joined by existing backers including OrbiMed, Newpath, Chugai Venture Fund, and others. Leal's lead candidate LTX-001 is a brain-penetrant glutaminase inhibitor for schizophrenia (aiming to correct metabolic glutamate imbalances in the brain), and the Series A will fund clinical efficacy trials in schizophrenia as well as advance an ALS-focused ASO (LTX-002) into the clinic.

The company's approach—treating CNS diseases by rectifying metabolic dysfunction—attracted specialized neurology investors. In conjunction with the financing, DDF's partner Dr. Christian Jung joined Leal's board to support the company's progress.

Vaxxas -- A$90 million (~US$58 M) to scale vaccine patch technology: Australian biotech Vaxxas Pty Ltd raised approximately A$90 million in combined equity and debt funding to commercialize its needle-free "high-density microarray patch (HD-MAP)" vaccine delivery platform. The raise includes A$75 million (US$49.2 M) in new Series D equity led by SPRIM Global Investments, with participation from LGT Crestone, OneVentures and Brandon Capital, plus a A$40 million (US$25.2 M) debt facility from SPRIM. This is one of the largest private biotech financings in Australia this year.

Proceeds will extend Vaxxas's runway into late 2027, enabling scale-up of manufacturing (installing semi-automated production lines) and advancing late-stage clinical trials for its vaccine patches. Vaxxas's HD-MAP aims to improve vaccine storage (less cold chain needed) and allow self-administration, which has drawn significant investor interest in a challenging biotech funding market. Along with the funding, Vaxxas announced a CEO transition, as long-time CEO David Hoey will step aside for a new leader to drive the company's commercialization phase.

Wingor Bio -- Chinese cell therapy firm raises "tens of millions" in seed funding: Shenzhen Wingor Biotechnology, focused on stem cell and gene therapies in China, announced it has secured "dozens of millions" of CNY (estimated in the tens of millions RMB range) in an initial funding round. The round is led by KC Eternium Management, a strategic investment affiliate of Globelink Holdings, and remains open to additional investors.

Wingor, founded in 2013, has a broad cell therapy pipeline (including several IND-stage stem cell drugs and an exosome-based delivery platform) and collaborates with over 60 hospitals in China. This infusion of capital will help accelerate its lead programs – which span regenerative medicine, exosome therapeutics, and immune cell therapies – toward clinical development and global partnerships. The deal underscores continued investor appetite in China for advanced cell therapy ventures, despite a challenging funding climate.

Deal Activity Analysis

Geographic Distribution

• United States: 6 deals (AbbVie, Wugen, Leal, Immuneering, Shattuck, Northwest Bio)
• Europe: 2 deals (Novo Nordisk-Denmark, Vaxxas debt from EU)
• Asia-Pacific: 2 deals (Vaxxas-Australia, Wingor-China)

Therapeutic Focus Areas

Market Insights

Each of these transactions from August 25–28 illustrates the diverse dealmaking across pharma and biotech globally -- from big pharma pipeline bets and royalty monetizations, to international venture financings fueling next-generation therapeutics. These deals reveal investors' and partners' strategic priorities, whether it's securing innovative CNS and oncology assets, funding cutting-edge platform technologies (like srRNA and vaccine patches), or bolstering manufacturing and development capabilities.

Collectively, the week's term sheet highlights a resilient flow of capital and collaborations targeting high-value therapeutic areas and technologies, even as broader market conditions remain selective. The structures range from hefty upfront M&A and royalty payouts to creative equity placements and milestone-laden partnerships -- all aimed at advancing drug development and ultimately improving patient outcomes worldwide.

Key Trends:

• Psychedelic therapies gaining Big Pharma validation (AbbVie-Gilgamesh)
• Novel RNA modalities attracting significant investment (Novo-Replicate)
• "Off-the-shelf" cell therapies securing large funding rounds (Wugen)
• Royalty monetization providing immediate capital to biotechs (BeOne-Royalty Pharma)
• Platform technologies commanding premium valuations across multiple deals