Cortexyme, a company focusing on treatments for degenerative diseases, entered into a deal to acquire Novosteo, which plays in the rare disease space. Once the deal is finalized, the merged companies will operate under the name Quince Therapeutics and trade under the ticker symbol QNCX.

GlaxoSmithKline is acquiring California biopharmaceutical firm Sierra Oncology for $1.9 billion in a deal expected to help both companies take a major step in developing a treatment for rare types of cancer.

Gilead Sciences Inc. said on April 11 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had lifted the partial clinical hold placed on the company’s trials testing a blood cancer drug combination.

Boehringer Ingelheim announced the company’s intention to pump €25 billion ($27 billion) into its R&D pipeline over the next five years.

Amgen Chief Executive Officer Robert Bradway is excited about 2022. During his presentation at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Bradway said things are lining up for long-term growth for the California-based company. 

Merck’s HIV strategy took a major hit as a “very important” aspect, MK-8507, was paused in development after patients experienced a low white blood cell count. East coast neighbor Enanta is also feeling the sting of a failed program with HBV trials, as the Massachusetts biotech is dropping the oral hepatitis B virus RNA destabilizer EDP-721 after healthy participants experienced safety signals.

Novo Nordisk

Shares of Dicerna Pharmaceuticals exploded today after Novo Nordisk announced plans to acquire the Lexington, Mass.-based , a company developing RNAi therapeutics, company for $3.3 billion.

Four years after partnering with GammaDelta Therapeutics to develop therapies for solid tumors, Takeda Pharmaceutical pulled the trigger and exercised its option to acquire the London-based company.

Five years after bottoming out, Bristol Myers Squibb has moved to the first division of pharma companies with three of the world’s top eight drugs in its portfolio.

GSK continues to increase investment in the company pipeline, build on top-line momentum for key growth drivers, and largely complete readiness for the consumer healthcare business separation.