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PETRI DISH PERSPECTIVES
November 2025: Biotech & Pharma NEWS Roundup
Welcome to your essential overview of the global biotech and pharmaceutical landscape for November 2025!
This month was dominated by a surge in M&A activity, with high-profile bidding wars!
🎧 Listen now, stay curious, and don’t forget to subscribe for new episodes!
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© 2025 Petri Dish Perspectives LLC. All rights reserved.
Hello and welcome to Petri Dish Perspectives, the podcast where we geek out about science and the companies shaping the future of healthcare. I’m your host, Manead, and I’m a PhD scientist by training, biotech storyteller by choice.
Due to popular demand, I’ll be starting monthly episodes for biotech and pharma news. So, I’ll be releasing monthly recaps for news on the first day of every month and my goal is to deliver digestible pieces of news on pharma and biotech companies in under 15 mins.
Grab your coffee or tea cuz you’re in for a treat!
- Pfizer won the bid for Metsera
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/08/metsera-accepts-pfizers-10-billion-bid-in-ongoing-ma-battle.html
On November 7th, Metsera accepted Pfizer’s acquisition offer for around $10 billion, concluding a dramatic two-week bidding war with Novo Nordisk. The deal includes $65.60 per share upfront and up to $20.65 per share in contingent value rights (CVRs), tied to three undisclosed clinical and regulatory milestones.
The acquisition, originally valued at $7.3 billion in September, escalated after Novo Nordisk offered $6.5 billion upfront, surpassing Pfizer’s initial bid. Pfizer responded swiftly, arguing Novo was trying to suppress competition.
Metsera’s lead asset, MET-097i, a weekly and monthly injectable GLP-1 agonist, is nearing Phase 3 trials. Additional assets include MET-233i, an amylin analog in Phase 1, and an oral GLP-1 program. Despite near-term earnings impact, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla called the deal a strategic bet on a high-growth therapeutic area, positioning Pfizer to compete in the rapidly evolving obesity treatment landscape led by Novo’s blockbuster Wegovy.
- Merck & Co to acquire Cidara for $9.2B
https://finimize.com/content/merck-plans-92-billion-buyout-of-cidara-therapeutics
On November 14th, Merck announced its acquisition of Cidara. Merck will be paying $221.50 a share in cash.
Cidara is developing targeted immunotherapies designed to save lives and improve the standard of care for patients facing serious diseases. The Company’s proprietary Cloudbreak® platform enables development of novel drug-Fc conjugates (DFCs) that inhibit specific disease targets while simultaneously engaging the immune system. Cidara is headquartered in San Diego, California and is built on the core values of collaboration, integrity, accountability, urgency and courage which foster a unique and award-winning atmosphere.
Merck is eyeing Cidara’s flagship asset, Cd388, a late-stage, strain-agnostic antiviral designed for flu prevention in high-risk groups. The deal still needs shareholder and regulatory approval, but if all goes to plan, Merck expects to close in early 2026. By structuring this as an asset purchase, Merck is signaling strong belief in Cd388’s commercial potential as next-generation flu technology edges closer to reality.
- J&J buys Halda
On November 17, 2025, J&J announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Halda Therapeutics for approximately $3.05 billion in cash. The transaction is expected to close within the next few months, subject to regulatory and antitrust approvals. J&J will acquire all outstanding shares of Halda for $3.05 billion in cash.
The acquisition aims to strengthen J&J's oncology pipeline, particularly in treatments for solid tumors and prostate cancer. Halda's technology is designed to work even when cancers have developed resistance to standard treatments.
The deal centers on Halda's proprietary Regulated Induced Proximity TArgeting Chimera (RIPTAC™) platform. This platform uses novel "hold and kill" small molecules that target cancer cells by inducing a new protein-protein interaction, leading to cell death.
The acquisition includes Halda's lead drug candidate, HLD-0915, an oral therapeutic currently in Phase 1/2 clinical trials for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Early data has shown promising anti-tumor activity in heavily pretreated patients. The RIPTAC platform has additional programs in development for other major solid tumors, including breast and lung cancers.
- Abbott acquisition Exact Sciences
https://www.fiercebiotech.com/medtech/abbott-dives-cancer-diagnostics-23b-buyout-exact-sciences
On November 20, 2025, Abbott announced a definitive agreement to acquire Exact Sciences for approximately $21 billion in cash. The deal is not yet closed and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2026, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals. Abbott will pay $105 per common share of Exact Sciences in cash, which represents a total equity value of around $21 billion and an enterprise value of approximately $23 billion including assumed debt.
The acquisition allows Abbott to enter and gain a leadership position in the rapidly growing cancer diagnostics market. It complements Abbott's existing diagnostics business and offers a new growth vertical. Abbott will gain access to Exact Sciences' portfolio of cancer screening and diagnostic tests, including the widely-used Cologuard® test for colorectal cancer, the Oncotype DX® test for breast cancer, and the new Cancerguard™ multi-cancer early detection blood test. After the transaction closes, Exact Sciences will operate as a subsidiary of Abbott and maintain its presence in Madison, Wisconsin. Kevin Conroy, the current Chairman and CEO of Exact Sciences, will remain in an advisory role during the transition.
- Eli Lilly 1st company to be trillion dollar company
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/health/eli-lilly-one-trillion-value-pharmaceuticals.html
On November 21, 2025, Eli Lilly became the first healthcare company to reach a market capitalization of $1 trillion. This was driven by the success of its GLP-1 drugs for weight loss (Zepbound) and diabetes (Mounjaro), which have seen immense demand and growth.
The stock was up more than 36% in the first 11 months of 2025. As of Friday, November 28, 2025, its market cap was $1.02 trillion.
Eli Lilly's market value is more than double that of its closest pharmaceutical competitor, Johnson & Johnson. Its rival in the GLP-1 market, Novo Nordisk, is valued significantly lower.
While Eli Lilly is the first in the healthcare sector, it is not the first trillion-dollar company overall. That "exclusive club" is largely dominated by technology firms like Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft.
- Sanofi HQ in Paris raided by French authorities
https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/french-authorities-raid-sanofi-headquarters-tax-fraud-probe
On November 25, 2025, Sanofi's headquarters in Paris, France, was raided by French authorities, as part of a tax fraud investigation. The raid was conducted by the National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) and the National Anti-Fraud Office (ONAF). The investigation, which began in January 2024, concerns allegations of money laundering related to tax fraud and criminal conspiracy. The probe is linked to a specific financing arrangement offered by Société Générale for an acquisition Sanofi made more than a decade ago. Sanofi has stated it is cooperating with authorities and "considers it has complied with all applicable laws and regulations in this matter". Authorities previously searched Société Générale's offices in Paris and Luxembourg in June as part of the same investigation, which also involves other large companies.
- OpenAI pharma partnerships
OpenAI is rapidly becoming a key player in biopharma innovation through strategic collaborations across the industry. Eli Lilly has teamed up with OpenAI to use generative AI in designing new medicines to combat drug-resistant bacteria, while Sanofi and Formation Bio are working with OpenAI to build customized AI models that accelerate drug development across R&D, clinical trials, and regulatory workflows. Thermo Fisher Scientific is embedding OpenAI’s AI tools into its Accelerator™ platform to streamline clinical research and trial operations, including trial site activation and quality control. Meanwhile, India's Mankind Pharma is partnering with OpenAI to implement AI-driven transformation across the pharmaceutical value chain, from manufacturing and R&D to commercial strategy and medical affairs.
These partnerships highlight the growing trust in OpenAI’s technology to reshape drug discovery, development efficiency, and operational scale, with many companies integrating proprietary data to unlock new breakthroughs in precision medicine and biotech innovation.
Thank you for tuning in for the November 2025 episode. See you again on the first day in January for December's news wrap!
© 2025 Petri Dish Perspectives LLC. All rights reserved.
