Six Biotechs Getting Acquired in 2026
Ahead of JPM, here are the six companies I think will be acquired by the end of the year
Welcome back! I hope all of you experienced a restful holiday and are having a strong start to the new year. January in Biopharma is signified by the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference (JPM). This is where deal discussions begin for the coming year and also where major deals get announced. Anecdotally, we have seen M&A appetite from Big Pharma/Biotech pick up over the last few years. Buzz and rumors are accordingly picking up as well. Much of this has to do with everyone’s favorite two words [pause for effect]: Patent Cliffs!
2026 will be marked by healthy M&A activity from the top 15-20 or so players in our sector. And to that end, I thought a great way to kick off the year headed into JPM is to highlight who I think has a strong chance of getting acquired this year. Below I’ve stated the case for six companies (and maybe a bonus one or two) that I think will be acquired over the course of 2026.
If you enjoy strategic analyses, insights, and opinions about Biotech and Pharma from an insider’s perspective, you can get access to all Big Pharma Sharma content by becoming a paid subscriber. Thanks for your support!
2026 will be marked by healthy M&A activity from the Top 15-20 or so players in our sector. And to that end, I thought a great way to kick off the year headed into JPM is to highlight who I think has a strong chance of getting acquired this year.
Below I’ve stated the case for six companies (and maybe a bonus one or two) that I think will be acquired over the course of 2026.
If you enjoy strategic analyses, insights, and opinions about the Biotech and Pharma from an insider’s perspective, you can get access to all Big Pharma Sharma content becoming a paid subscriber. Thanks for your support!
Revolution Medicines RVMD 0.00%↑
This one has been on my radar for a while, as long-time subscribers will note. The M&A rumors are already swirling—AbbVie reportedly circled the company this week (though they denied it), and as of today, Merck is in talks for a whopping $28-32 billion acquisition. That’s quite the price tag when you consider BMS bought Mirati Therapeutics, another KRAS inhibitor company, for $4.8-$5.8B in 2023.
Over the course of 2025, RVMD secured breakthrough therapy designation (BTD) for its lead multi-KRAS inhibitor, daraxonrasib (darax), in pancreatic cancer, along with a shiny new Commissioner’s National Priority Review Voucher (CNPV), which offers a rapid 2-month review period
Darax is underway in four registrational studies (three across adjuvant, 1L, and 2L PDAC, and one in 2L/3L NSCLC). Pancreatic cancer is one of the most devastating cancers writ-large. Patients typically suffer through largely ineffective chemotherapy combinations before succumbing to the disease. Darax looks quite active in this disease, demonstrating ORRs between 29% and 55% as monotherapy, depending on the line of therapy. That’s a major step up from the ORRs typically seen with standard of care.
Revolution represents the premier RAS franchise at a pivotal inflection point, offering a buyer a near-commercial stage lead asset, with multiple P3 readouts over the course of 2026, in a market with little/no significant on-market competition. Pair that with a pipeline of other more-specific clinical-stage RAS-targeting agents, and you have both a pipeline-in-a-product and platform company that warrants significant large acquirer interest.
As of this writing, RVMD is roughly ~$20B in market cap, which will box out quite a few of the Big Biopharma acquirers. AbbVie’s interest never really made sense to me, not because RVMD wouldn’t be a fit for them, but as I’ve written about before, AbbVie doesn’t have the firepower to do a huge deal like this, without needing to raise a significant amount of additional funds.
Merck makes a ton of sense as a potential acquirer. Their small molecule targeted therapy exposure is rather small, but RVMD’s own data as well as data from competitors has shown synergy between RAS-inhibition and PD-1 inhibition. Merck also has the financial wherewithal (still) to digest a big number like this. My guess is it will end up being a cash + CVR deal, that has become so common. The bigger question is, will we see an interloper and subsequent public bidding war for RVMD?
Vera Therapeutics VERA 0.00%↑
Vera is another company I’ve had my eye on for a while. I actually thought they would be acquired in 2025 after reporting P3 data for their lead program in IgAN, atacicept. You know what they say - Never wrong. Just early.
Last year Vera delivered knockout ORIGIN Phase 3 data in November 2025 showing atacicept significantly reduced proteinuria in IgA nephropathy, published results in NEJM, secured FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation, and submitted their BLA in Q4 2025. The company also received priority review confirmation on January 7th, building further confidence that a commercial approval (and launch) is on the horizon towards the middle of 2026 (PDUFA date July 7th).
Over the course of ‘26 we will see Vera report data on atacicept in other autoimmune kidney diseases (P2 PIONEER study) shedding light on atacicept’s market potential, as well as long-term P3 data in IgAN, with key emphasis on eGFR (kidney function) stabilization data, which could be a key differentiator for atacicept and acquisition trigger.
IgAN is an already competitive space that is only going to grow in market size and competitive intensity over the coming years. Otsuka and Vertex are notable players that are advancing in-class competitors to atacicept, but the future of treatment in this disease appears to be combination therapies. To that end, players like Novartis, Roche, and AstraZeneca, who have late-stage assets in complementary MOAs, could be an ideal match.