Cancer dealmaking in Q1 2026 points to a healthy, broadening financing environment, with capital concentrating in later-stage, higher-conviction assets. R&D partnerships stayed robust at 54 deals worth $30.8B in total value and $2B upfront (versus 62 deals and $29.8B in Q4 2025), and although volume eased, higher average and median upfronts of $125M and $63M signal larger, more committed collaborations, led by RemeGen and AbbVie ($650M upfront) and Innovent and Lilly ($350M upfront, up to $8.5B in milestones). M&A held flat on count but shifted in composition, with 22 deals totaling $23.7B, including contingents and a tighter average-to-median spread ($2.9B versus $2B) than Q4 2025’s mega-deal-driven $40.3B, anchored by Gilead and Arcellx ($8.2B) and Merck and Terns ($6.7B).
Venture funding gained momentum at 68 rounds, raising $3.5B (up from $3.1B), with all standouts raising late-stage or scale-up rather than early discovery, including Parabilis ($305M), Cellares ($257M), and Orca Bio ($250M). IPOs strengthened on both count and size, with 4 offerings raising $875M and average deal size climbing from roughly $133M to $219M, led by Eikon Therapeutics’ $381M Nasdaq listing, the largest biotech IPO since 2024. Taken together, the quarter signals a reopening public window and steady appetite for cancer innovation after a slow 2024 to 2025 stretch.
Cancer R&D Partnerships
Cancer R&D partnerships remained strong across the past two quarters. In Q1 2026, the sector recorded 54 deals totaling $30.8B in deal value and $2B in upfront cash and equity, with average and median upfront payments of $125M and $63M, respectively. This followed Q4 2025, which delivered 62 deals worth $29.8B in total deal value and $2.2B in upfront cash and equity, with average and median upfront payments of $104M and $50M. Combined, the two quarters generated 116 deals, $60.7B in total deal value, and $4.2B in upfront cash and equity.
Prominent Cancer R&D Partnerships in Q1 2026
Innovent development and commercialization deal with Eli Lilly – February 2026
Innovent, through its wholly owned subsidiaries Innovent Biologics (Suzhou), Fortvita Biologics (Singapore), Fortvita Biologics Inc., and Fortvita Biologics (USA), granted Lilly exclusive worldwide rights outside China to develop and commercialize antibody-based therapies for cancer and immunology indications. Innovent will lead early research and clinical development through Phase II in China, leveraging its antibody discovery platforms and development capabilities, while Lilly will assume responsibility for global development and commercialization. Innovent retains rights in Greater China. The agreement includes a $350M upfront payment, with Innovent eligible to receive up to $8.5B in development, regulatory, and commercial milestones, in addition to tiered royalties.
RemeGen development and commercialization deal with AbbVie – January 2026
RemeGen granted AbbVie exclusive worldwide rights outside China to develop, manufacture, and commercialize RC148, a PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody targeting multiple advanced solid tumors. The asset is currently in Phase II and is being evaluated both as monotherapy and in combination regimens, including with antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), across multiple solid tumor indications, including select lung cancers. Under the agreement, RemeGen will receive a $650M upfront payment and is eligible for up to $5B in development, regulatory, and commercial milestones.
Vir Biotechnology development and commercialization deal with Astellas – February 2026
Vir Biotechnology granted Astellas rights to co-develop and co-commercialize VIR-5500, a PRO-XTEN dual-masked CD3 T-cell engager targeting PSMA for the treatment of prostate cancer. The program is currently in Phase I, with Vir continuing to lead the ongoing trial before transferring full development responsibility to Astellas. Vir retains an option to co-promote the asset and will share profit and loss in the U.S. at an undisclosed split (likely 40%), while Astellas will hold exclusive commercialization rights outside the U.S. Astellas will fund 60% of global development costs, with Vir covering the remaining 40%. Financial terms include a $240M upfront payment, a $75M equity investment at a 50% premium, and up to $20M in near-term milestones upon completion of manufacturing technology transfer expected in Q2 2027. Vir is also eligible for up to $1.4B in development, regulatory, and sales milestones (breakout not disclosed), alongside double-digit tiered royalties.
Cancer M&A
Cancer M&A activity remained steady in volume but declined in transaction value. Q1 2026 recorded 22 deals totaling $23.7B, including contingents and $20.3B in cash excluding contingents, with average and median upfront cash and equity payments of $2.9B and $2B, respectively. This compares with 21 deals in Q4 2025 valued at $40.3B, including contingents and $37.8B excluding contingents, where the average upfront payment reached $4.2B while the median was just $406M. Across both quarters, cancer M&A generated 43 deals worth $64B, including contingents and $58.1B in cash.
Prominent Cancer M&A in Q1 2026
Gilead acquired Arcellx – February 2026
Gilead Sciences is acquiring Arcellx to strengthen its cell therapy franchise in multiple myeloma and broader hematologic and solid tumor indications. Arcellx’s lead program is anitocabtagene autoleucel (anito-cel), a BCMA-directed CAR-T in preregistration for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, backed by a pipeline spanning AML, MDS, myasthenia gravis, HCC, and SCLC. The deal builds on Gilead’s existing 11.5% stake and its Kite collaboration on the CART-ddBCMA program. Arcellx shareholders received $115 per share in cash (a 79% one-day premium) plus a $5 CVR tied to anito-cel reaching $6B in cumulative net sales by end-2029, for $8.2B in total equity value.
Merck acquired Terns Pharmaceuticals – March 2026
Merck announced the acquisition of Terns Pharmaceuticals, expanding its oncology pipeline with a focus on hematologic malignancies. Terns’ lead asset is TERN-701, a Phase I/II investigational small molecule therapy for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), along with an additional undisclosed cancer program in discovery. Under the terms of the transaction, Terns shareholders received $53 per share in cash for common stock, representing a 6% one-day premium, a 31% 60-day premium, and a 42% 90-day premium, implying a total equity value of $6.7B. Upon completion, Terns will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck, with the transaction expected to close in Q2 2026. On May 05, 2026, Merck completed the acquisition of Terns Pharmaceuticals.
Novartis acquiring Pikavation Therapeutics from Synnovation Therapeutics – March 2026
Novartis announced the acquisition of Pikavation Therapeutics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Synnovation Therapeutics, strengthening its precision oncology pipeline in breast cancer and other solid tumors. The transaction includes a portfolio of pan-mutant selective PI3Kα inhibitor programs, including SNV-4818, which is currently in a Phase I/II study for HR+/HER2 metastatic breast cancer and other advanced solid tumors. Following completion, Novartis will assume full responsibility for the development and commercialization of SNV-4818 and the broader PI3Kα inhibitor portfolio, while Synnovation will continue to operate independently and retain its other R&D programs. The acquisition is expected to close in H1 2026. Under the terms of the deal, Synnovation will receive a $2B upfront payment and is eligible for up to $1B in development milestones.
Cancer Venture Activity
Cancer venture funding gained momentum heading into 2026, with Q1 2026 recording 68 financing rounds that raised $3.5B, up from 61 rounds and $3.1B in Q4 2025. Across the two quarters, the sector generated 129 funding rounds totaling $6.6B.
Prominent Cancer Venture Activity – Q1 2026
Parabilis Medicines – Series F – $305M – January 2026
Parabilis Medicines, a Cambridge-based oncology biotech formerly known as FogPharma, is advancing zolucatetide (FOG-001), a peptide drug targeting the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway in solid tumors. The company’s oversubscribed $305M series F funds are a pivotal Phase 3 in desmoid tumors, with further readouts due in 2026. Parabilis drew three crossover co-leads (RA Capital, Fidelity, Janus Henderson), a clear IPO-readiness signal, and the round came at a step-up from its $145M 2024 raise.
Cellares – Series D – $257M – January 2026
Cellares is a cell therapy manufacturing platform (not a drug developer) that automates CAR-T and other production through its Cell Shuttle and Cell Q systems. The $257M series D lifts Cellares’ total capital raised to $612M and funds a global “Smart Factory” buildout (US, Netherlands, Japan), with clinical manufacturing in H1 2026 and commercial scale in 2027. Co-led by BlackRock and Eclipse, Cellares is validated by an FDA designation and a $380M Bristol Myers Squibb capacity deal, and management is openly signaling a path to public markets.
Orca Bio – Series F – $250M – January 2026
Orca Bio, a Menlo Park developer of high-precision allogeneic cell therapy, is advancing lead asset Orca-T for blood cancers (AML, ALL, MDS) with reduced graft-versus-host disease. Orca Bio’s $250M aggregate (a series F led by Lightspeed plus up to $100M in SVB credit) is a pre-commercial raise, funding launch readiness, and East Coast manufacturing. Orca-T’s FDA decision date slipped from April 6 to July 6, 2026, due to additional manufacturing data.
Cancer IPO Activity
Cancer IPO activity strengthened notably in Q1 2026, with 4 offerings raising a combined $875M, compared with 3 IPOs that generated $399M in Q4 2025. Across both quarters, 7 IPOs raised a total of $1.3B. The increase in both offering volume and proceeds, coupled with the average IPO size rising from approximately $133M to $219M.
Prominent Cancer IPO Activity – Q1 2026
Eikon Therapeutics – IPO – $381.2M – January 2026
Eikon Therapeutics is a late-stage cancer developer led by Merck veteran Roger Perlmutter. Its lead drug EIK1001 (TLR-7/8 agonist) is in a Phase 2/3 melanoma program, with NSCLC and PARP/WRN assets behind it. Eikon’s upsized Nasdaq IPO (ticker EIKN) raised $381M, selling 21.18M shares at $18, the largest biotech IPO since 2024. Reported 10% Merck participation and strong demand fund Eikon’s operations into H2 2027.
Diagens Biotechnology – IPO – $101M – March 2026
Diagens Biotechnology is a medical imaging AI company. Its iMedImage foundation model powers automated chromosome karyotype analysis for prenatal and IVF use. Diagens’ $101M HKEX listing (ticker 02526) saw shares double on day one to a US$2.3B market value, with the retail tranche oversubscribed 1,073x. Diagens held 30.6% of China’s karyotype market by 2024 revenue, with Huatai as the sole sponsor.
Kanaph Therapeutics – IPO – $27M – February 2026
Kanaph Therapeutics is a South Korean immuno-oncology biotech using genome-based discovery to build bispecific antibodies and bispecific ADCs. Its lead candidate, KNP-101, is a fibroblast-targeting IL-12 immunotherapy. Kanaph’s $27M raise (KRW 40B) priced at the top of its KOSDAQ range, with institutional bookbuilding oversubscribed 962x. Kanaph’s strength rests on real licensing revenue, with cumulative tech-transfer deals worth US$525M (Dong-A ST, Lotte Biologics, GC Biopharma), a performance-based, rather than promise-based profile.
Also check out Cancer R&D Partnerships, M&A, Venture Funding, and IPO Activity – 2025 Review
