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The week that was

Other deals of the week

Pipeline picks

Chart of the week

Eli Lilly has moved from buying oral immunology drugs to buying new ways of treating autoimmune disease.

💰 Eli Lilly to acquire Merida Biosciences for up to $2.88B

It's the latest in a series of buys this year for Lilly, which has been bulking its immunology pipeline through M&A.

🤖 AI widens women's health valuation gap

Women's health startups using AI are pulling further ahead on valuation, mirroring the broader VC market, per SVB data.

Eli Lilly to acquire Merida Biosciences for up to $2.88B

1 big thing: The week that was

Illustration of a caduceus drawn in chalk, like sports strategies.

• Ausperbio, an SF-based biotech focused on chronic hepatitis B, raised $120m in Series C funding. RA Capital Management led, joined by insiders HanKang Capital, Qiming Venture Partners, YuanBio Venture Capital, and CDH Investments. Go deeper

• N-Power Medicine, a Redwood City, Calif.-based cancer drug developer, raised $32m in Series B funding from Labcorp Venture Fund, Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, and Innovatus Capital Partners. Go deeper

• Thyme Care, a Nashville-based cancer care company, raised $125m in Series E funding at a $2b-plus valuation. Morgan Health led, joined by Humana, CVS Health Ventures, AlleyCorp, HealthQuest Capital, Foresite Capital, Concord Health Partners, Frist Cressey Ventures, Town Hall Ventures, and a16z. Go deeper

• EIT Pharma, a Kirkland, Wash.-based biotech focused on infectious diseases, raised $35m in Series A funding. Propel Bio Partners led, joined by Good Ventures and Arrowtown. Go deeper

• Superluminal Medicines, a Boston-based obesity drug developer targeting the MC4R pathway, raised a $60 million Series B from BVF Partners, Deep Track Capital, Perceptive Advisors, RA Capital Management, NVentures, Catalio Capital Management and Eli Lilly. Go deeper

• Typewriter Therapeutics, a Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of RNA-based gene-insertion medicines using R2 retrotransposons, raised a $56 million Series A led by AN Venture Partners and RA Capital Management, with participation from ANRI, Gemseki and SBI US Gateway Fund. Go deeper

• H.I.G. Capital acquired Outcomes One, an Orlando, Fla.-based clinical network services and pharmacy technology company, from BlackRock. Go deeper

• Bain Capital and EQT are circling Nucleus Network, an Australian clinical trials company owned by Blackstone, per The Australian. Go deeper

• West Physics Consulting, an Incline Equity Partners portfolio company, acquired Radiographic Testing Services, an Albany, N.Y.-based medical equipment services provider. Go deeper

• Electra Therapeutics, an SF-based biotech focused on immunology and cancer, filed for an IPO. It plans to list on the Nasdaq (ETRA) and has raised $300m from OrbiMed (9% pre-IPO stake), Westlake BioPartners (7.1%), Redmile (7.1%), Aventus (6.2%), EQT LSP (6.2%), and New Leaf Ventures (4.4%). Go deeper

• Astorg and Montagu Private Equity are seeking to sell Nemera, a French maker of delivery devices for GLP-1s that could fetch around €3b, per Bloomberg. Go deeper

• H.I.G. Capital is seeking to sell Rising Pharmaceuticals, an East Brunswick, N.J.-based drugmaker that could fetch $1b, per Bloomberg. Go deeper

• KKR agreed to sell its 10% stake in Nordic Bioscience, a Danish biomarkers developer, back to company founder Claus Christiansen. Go deeper

• ARCH Venture Partners, a biotech-focused venture firm, is raising a $3 billion 14th fund. Go deeper

• Gail Jermyn joined Advent Life Sciences as an IR partner. She previously was with Weight Partners Capital. Go deeper

• Michael Mazhari joined BlackArch Partners as a director in its life sciences and health care group. He previously was with Houlihan Lokey. Go deeper

• GSK agreed to pay $110 million upfront to license Hutchmed's KRAS-EGFR antibody-targeted therapy conjugate, with up to $1.185 billion in potential milestone payments. Go deeper

2. Other deals of the week

Illustration of a pipette dropping droplets of coins into a test tube.

🧠 Brain implants fuel U.S.-China bioscience rivalry — Axios

💸 Nine more drugmakers cut pricing deals with Trump — Axios

⏸️ Three deaths in CAR-T trials prompt halt by Novartis; Bristol Myers programs also paused — EndPoints News

3. Pipeline picks

Illustration of a hand on a syringe with a dollar bill inside

Data: PitchBook; Chart: Natalie Breymeyer/Axios

Pharma biotool exits totaled just $1.1 billion in H1 2026, putting the sector on pace for one of its weakest exit years since 2020, according to PitchBook.

The big picture: Strategics are largely bypassing VC-backed tools startups in favor of large M&A and private equity carveouts, while investors shift toward early-stage foundation-model developers.

Alamar Biosciences was H1's biggest exit by disclosed value, completing an upsized $191 million IPO at a roughly $940 million valuation.

Zoom in: PitchBook defines biotools as companies providing technology, infrastructure and services used in drug discovery and development.

The bottom line: Pharma biotools funding remains resilient, per the same report, but weak exits won't help.

4. Chart of the week

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September 05, 2026

1 big thing: The week that was