Biggest pharma deals of 2025: How $70bn in M&A reshaped global drug strategy

The global pharmaceutical industry staged an aggressive comeback in 2025 with merger and acquisition activity surging past 70 billion dollars in aggregate value. Big Pharma returned to large-scale consolidation after a tepid 2024, emboldened by pipeline gaps, patent cliffs, and a rising appetite for late-stage innovation. The year’s top deals were not just about expanding product portfolios, but also about securing future therapeutic leadership in areas such as central nervous system disorders, metabolic disease, oncology, and adult vaccines. Companies like Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Merck & Co., and Sanofi led the charge, executing bold transactions that reflected high conviction in commercial and scientific upside.

Why Johnson & Johnson’s $14.6 billion Intra-Cellular acquisition set the tone for CNS dealmaking

In January 2025, Johnson & Johnson made the year’s largest pharmaceutical acquisition by announcing a 14.6 billion dollar takeover of Intra-Cellular Therapies. The centerpiece of the deal was Caplyta, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved antipsychotic indicated for schizophrenia and bipolar depression, with additional development ongoing for major depressive disorder and dementia-related psychosis. This transaction positions Johnson & Johnson as a dominant force in neuropsychiatric therapeutics, bolstering its pharmaceutical arm after the spinoff of consumer health business Kenvue. The company emphasized that the acquisition fills a critical pipeline gap and supports its broader neuroscience ambitions, especially in an era where mental health demand is growing and differentiated assets are rare.

Novartis places a $12 billion bet on RNA innovation through the Avidity Biosciences deal

Novartis followed swiftly with a 12 billion dollar acquisition of Avidity Biosciences, a move designed to secure long-term leadership in precision RNA-based therapeutics. Avidity’s proprietary antibody-oligonucleotide conjugate technology enables targeted delivery of small interfering RNA to specific tissues, a capability that attracted significant investor interest across the biotech landscape. The company’s lead program for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy is now in late-stage trials, and additional programs for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and myotonic dystrophy are advancing in parallel. Novartis executives described the deal as a dual play on scientific platform and rare disease market expansion. Analysts noted that the acquisition complements Novartis’s existing RNAi and radioligand initiatives, making this one of the year’s most strategically integrated transactions.

Merck & Co.’s $10 billion Verona Pharma buy boosts respiratory pipeline amid patent pressures

Merck & Co. made headlines mid-year with its acquisition of Verona Pharma for approximately 10 billion dollars. The British biotech brings to the table ensifentrine, a novel dual inhibitor therapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Ensifentrine recently secured U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval under the brand name Ohtuvayre and represents one of the first new mechanisms for COPD in over a decade. With Merck’s blockbuster franchises in oncology and cardiometabolism facing looming loss of exclusivity, this acquisition provides near-term revenue potential while reinforcing the company’s footprint in respiratory medicine. The move also helps Merck diversify away from heavy reliance on its immuno-oncology portfolio, particularly as competitors accelerate in checkpoint inhibition and cell therapy.

Sanofi moves to buy Dynavax Technologies for $2.2 billion to expand its adult vaccine franchise

In one of the most widely discussed late-year deals, Sanofi announced it would acquire Dynavax Technologies for 2.2 billion dollars. The deal adds the hepatitis B vaccine Heplisav-B to Sanofi’s vaccine portfolio, alongside a promising shingles vaccine candidate in early development. Heplisav-B is already approved in the United States and offers a two-dose, one-month schedule compared to traditional three-dose regimens, providing a compliance advantage in adult vaccination. This acquisition gives Sanofi an immediate foothold in adult immunization markets, a segment projected to grow significantly as healthcare systems around the world shift focus toward adult booster and preventative care. Sanofi’s CEO cited the need to balance its pediatric vaccine strength with emerging adult vaccine opportunities and characterized the deal as a bet on immunization science rather than scale.

Pfizer returns to the obesity race by acquiring Metsera and its next-generation GLP-1 pipeline

Pfizer re-entered the metabolic disease arena with its acquisition of Metsera, a private biotech developing novel GLP-1 and amylin analogues for obesity and type 2 diabetes. While the exact deal size was not disclosed publicly, estimates place the transaction value at up to 10 billion dollars, including milestones. The move follows Pfizer’s earlier discontinuation of an internal oral GLP-1 candidate due to safety concerns. With Metsera’s injectable long-acting formulations showing early clinical promise, Pfizer now positions itself back in the race against Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, both of which have dominated headlines with their obesity blockbuster launches. The deal aligns with Pfizer’s strategy of outsourcing high-risk innovation and acquiring validated science, especially in competitive therapeutic verticals.

Genmab acquires Merus for $8 billion in one of the year’s biggest oncology-focused biotech takeovers

Danish immunotherapy specialist Genmab expanded its oncology pipeline in July 2025 by acquiring Merus for 8 billion dollars. Merus specializes in bispecific antibody therapeutics and has several clinical-stage programs in solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. Genmab, best known for its role in developing Darzalex with Johnson & Johnson, said the deal would significantly expand its next-generation antibody toolbox. Analysts praised the acquisition for its potential synergies across discovery platforms and late-stage development, noting that Genmab is now better equipped to compete with rivals in the emerging T-cell engager and antibody-drug conjugate segments. The Merus deal marks a broader trend in 2025 of mid-sized biopharma firms acquiring advanced biotech assets to fortify their oncology pipeline without overleveraging.

Blueprint Medicines acquired by Sanofi in parallel $9.5 billion rare disease transaction

Separate from the Dynavax deal, Sanofi executed another major acquisition in 2025 by taking over Blueprint Medicines for 9.5 billion dollars. Blueprint is best known for Ayvakit and Gavreto, targeted therapies for systemic mastocytosis and non-small cell lung cancer. The acquisition aligns with Sanofi’s strategic focus on precision medicine, rare diseases, and oncology, and provides access to an integrated commercial infrastructure in the United States. The deal was particularly notable for the premium Sanofi paid, which reflected its confidence in Blueprint’s pipeline expansion potential and expertise in kinase inhibition. It also underscored the growing interest among pharmaceutical majors in acquiring biotech companies with marketed assets and registrational-stage programs in underserved conditions.

What the 2025 M&A wave reveals about Big Pharma’s evolving acquisition playbook

The biggest lesson from 2025’s M&A cycle is that pharmaceutical companies are now willing to pay a premium for scientific differentiation and commercial readiness, rather than sheer scale. Acquirers prioritized biotech firms with late-stage or recently approved products, modular platforms, and therapeutic focus areas aligned with long-term growth segments. Central nervous system disorders, metabolic disease, rare conditions, and targeted oncology therapies emerged as the most consolidated verticals. The average deal value among the top seven transactions exceeded 10 billion dollars, a clear sign that buyers were hunting mature, high-impact assets rather than early-stage platform plays.

This trend also reflects how the risk calculus has shifted post-pandemic. Capital allocation decisions increasingly favor targets with well-characterized regulatory paths and demonstrated efficacy, even if it means compressing internal R&D investments. The capital markets recovery in early 2025 and softening inflation created favorable conditions for all-cash deals and reduced financing friction. Multiple acquirers also indicated in earnings calls that deal pipelines remain active heading into 2026, suggesting that the current cycle may extend as more biotech valuations stabilize.

Looking ahead: The next wave of biopharma M&A will be defined by focus, not frenzy

With more than 70 billion dollars deployed in 2025, the message is clear: high-conviction M&A is not only back, it is evolving into a more precise and therapeutically targeted instrument. Companies like Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Sanofi, Merck & Co., Pfizer, and Genmab have moved beyond generic consolidation plays and are now acquiring with a laser focus on modality, market, and mechanism. The result is a pharmaceutical landscape that is more strategically layered, more science-forward, and more responsive to unmet clinical demand than at any point in the past decade.

Key takeaways: What the biggest pharma deals of 2025 reveal about strategy, science, and capital allocation

• The pharmaceutical industry crossed an estimated $70 billion in merger and acquisition value in 2025, marking a decisive return to large-scale, high-conviction dealmaking after a cautious 2024.

• Johnson & Johnson’s $14.6 billion acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapies emerged as the largest pharma deal of the year, underscoring renewed confidence in central nervous system drugs and commercially de-risked neuroscience assets.

• Novartis’ $12 billion purchase of Avidity Biosciences highlighted Big Pharma’s growing appetite for RNA-based platform technologies, particularly those with late-stage rare disease programs and precision delivery advantages.

• Merck & Co.’s $10 billion acquisition of Verona Pharma signaled a strategic push to diversify revenue streams ahead of looming patent expiries, with respiratory disease becoming a renewed area of focus.

• Sanofi used acquisitions to reinforce two priority areas in 2025, buying Dynavax Technologies to strengthen its adult vaccine portfolio and Blueprint Medicines to deepen its presence in rare diseases and precision oncology.

• Pfizer’s acquisition of Metsera reflected intensifying competition in obesity and metabolic disease, as large drugmakers race to secure next-generation GLP-1 and amylin assets to challenge existing market leaders.

• Genmab’s $8 billion takeover of Merus showed that mid-sized biopharma companies are also becoming aggressive consolidators, particularly in advanced antibody and immuno-oncology platforms.

• Across the sector, buyers favored late-stage or recently approved assets, differentiated mechanisms of action, and platforms that could be rapidly integrated into existing commercial and regulatory infrastructure.

• The 2025 deal cycle suggests a shift away from broad empire-building mergers toward focused, science-driven acquisitions aimed at filling specific pipeline gaps and defending long-term growth.

• With multiple patent cliffs approaching in 2026 and 2027, industry momentum indicates that selective but sizable pharma M&A activity is likely to continue into the next year rather than taper off.