Cancer deal value slumped in Q3 2026, but radiopharmaceuticals and AI anchored the standout deals. Value fell faster than volume in partnerships, M&A and IPOs, while venture capital held nearly steady across fewer rounds.
Partnerships held at 50 deals, but value dropped 60.0% to $16.7B and upfronts 44.8% to $1.6B. Alphamab licensed Phase 3 TROP2/HER3 bispecific ADC JSKN-016 to Pathos AI for $125M upfront and up to $2.1B in milestones. Merck took rights to SciBrunch’s preclinical oral KRAS G12D molecular glue SPR-2015 for $400M upfront and up to $1.7B more.
M&A nearly halved to 17 deals, and value including contingents fell 67.9% to $15.6B. Yet the median upfront jumped 185.7% to $1.1B. Curium will take radiopharmaceutical maker Lantheus private at $102.50 per share, up to approximately $8.0B with its CVR. Telix will acquire ITM for $1.7B upfront plus up to $700M in milestones, adding Phase 3 neuroendocrine tumor asset ITM-11.
Venture rounds fell 29.0% to 44, while capital slipped just 3.2% to $3.0B. Chai Discovery raised a $400M series C at a $3.8B valuation for AI-driven molecular design. AdvanCell’s oversubscribed $315M series D backs ADVC001, a Phase 2 Lead-212 alpha therapy for metastatic prostate cancer.
IPOs fell to 1 from 3, and proceeds dropped 86.9% to $150M, excluding a partial option exercise. The lone listing, BlossomHill Therapeutics, priced at $16.00 per share to advance EGFR-mutant lung cancer candidate BH-30643.
Cancer R&D Partnerships
Cancer R&D partnership activity held steady in Q3 2026 at 50 deals, a slight 2.0% dip from 51 in Q2. Total deal value, however, contracted sharply, falling 60.0% to $16.7B from $41.8B. Upfront cash and equity also weakened, with the total down 44.8% to $1.6B from $2.9B. In contrast, average upfront cash and equity jumped 150.0% to $50M from $20M. The median upfront moved the other way, dropping 28.9% to $113M from $159M. Overall, the pullback was in value rather than volume, with total deal value and upfront funding both well below Q2.
Prominent Cancer R&D Partnerships – Q3 2026
Alphamab development and commercialization deal with Pathos AI – August 2026
Alphamab Oncology’s subsidiary Alphamab Biopharmaceuticals licensed JSKN016 to Pathos AI for $125M upfront and up to $2.1B in milestones. Tiered royalties run from high single digits to low double digits. JSKN016 is a TROP2/HER3 bispecific ADC for solid tumors, in Phase 3 for triple-negative breast cancer. Pathos gains exclusive rights outside the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, funding all development and commercialization. It will advance JSKN016 with its AI-driven platform and is raising to $300M in a series E.
SciBrunch development and commercialization deal with Merck – September 2026
SciBrunch granted Merck exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize SPR-2015. For the preclinical asset, SciBrunch will receive $400M up front and is eligible for up to $1.7B in further payments. These cover development milestones, sales milestones, and other activity payments across multiple indications (breakouts not disclosed). SPR-2015 is an oral molecular glue KRAS G12D (ON) inhibitor. It targets the KRAS G12D mutation in pancreatic, colorectal, lung, and other cancers.
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Cancer M&A
Cancer M&A activity nearly halved in Q3 2026, dropping 46.9% to 17 deals from 32 in Q2. Total M&A value, including contingents, contracted even faster, falling 67.9% to $15.6B from $48.6B. Excluding contingents, total cash value declined 62.7% to $14.4B from $38.6B. In contrast, average upfront cash and equity rose 17.6% to $2.1B from $1.8B. The median upfront surged 185.7% to $1.1B from $385M. Overall, Q3 brought far fewer deals and sharply lower total value than Q2, but larger upfronts per deal.
Prominent Cancer M&As in Q3 2026
Curium acquiring Lantheus Holdings – August 2026
Curium will take Lantheus private for $102.50 per share in cash plus a non-transferable CVR of up to $12. That totals up to $114.50 per share, or about $8.0B. It represents premiums of 29% and 38% to the unaffected 30-day and 60-day VWAPs. Lantheus’ lead radiopharmaceuticals include Pylarify for PSMA-positive prostate cancer detection, Definity for echocardiography, and Neuraceq for Alzheimer’s beta-amyloid imaging. The CVR pays up to $8 on 2030 prostate cancer diagnostics sales targets. Neurology diagnostics targets for FY2028 to FY2030 carry up to $3, and 2030 Definity sales above $400M carry $1. The deal pairs Curium’s theranostics with Lantheus’ U.S. radiodiagnostics across cancer, neurology, and cardiology in more than 70 countries. Closing is expected in the first half of 2027.
Telix acquiring ITM Isotope Technologies – September 2026
Telix will acquire ITM Isotope Technologies Munich for $1.7B upfront plus up to $700M in milestones. The upfront includes $1.3B in Telix shares at $11.84, Telix’s 30-day trailing VWAP. It also covers $302M of assumed net debt and $96M of management equity rollover and transaction expenses. Lead asset ITM-11 (lutetium-177 edotreotide) completed Phase 3 in G1-G2 gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs). The FDA issued a complete response letter in August 2026 citing manufacturing, not clinical, issues, and ITM plans to resubmit. ITM also brings approved radiolabeling precursor EndolucinBeta and pipeline assets in glioblastoma, prostate and ovarian cancers, and CAIX-expressing solid tumors. Approval milestones pay $100M in G1-G2 GEP-NETs by end-2027 and $100M in G2-G3 by end-2030. Lung NET approval by end-2031 adds $50M, and ITM-11 net sales above $150M in FY2030 add up to $450M. The combined company expects over $1.3B in 2026 revenue and a positive EBITDA contribution from 2027. Closing is expected by the end of 2026, leaving Telix holders with 76.3% and ITM holders with 23.7%.
Cancer Venture Funding Activity
Cancer venture funding activity slowed in Q3 2026, falling 29.0% to 44 rounds from 62 in Q2. Total capital raised held up far better, slipping just 3.2% to $3.0B from $3.1B. Overall, the capital deployed was nearly the same as Q2 across fewer rounds.
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Prominent Cancer Venture Funding Activity in Q3 2026
Chai Discovery – Series C – $400M – July 2026
Chai Discovery raised a $400M series C at a $3.8B valuation, nearly triple its $1.3B December 2025 mark. Index Ventures led, joined by Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia Capital, Dimension, and backers including Thrive Capital and OpenAI. Its AI models predict and reprogram molecular interactions to accelerate preclinical drug discovery. Chai says Chai-2 was the first zero-shot model to reach double-digit experimental success in de novo antibody design. Chai-3 lifts target success rates and binding affinity further. Eli Lilly, Pfizer and Novartis are adopting its models, and Argenx, Bristol Myers Squibb and GSK signed collaborations by October. Proceeds fund compute, data, research, and product development.
AdvanCell – Series D – $315M – July 2026
AdvanCell closed an oversubscribed, upsized $315M series D, led by Ally Bridge Group with Alpha Wave as co-lead. Eli Lilly and Sanofi Ventures returned, and new backers include Bain Capital Life Sciences and Fidelity. Its lead program, ADVC001, a Lead-212 PSMA-targeted alpha therapy, is in Phase 2 for metastatic prostate cancer. The company reports encouraging Phase 1b anti-tumor activity and favorable tolerability, with updated TheraPb data at ESMO 2026. Proceeds will push ADVC001 toward Phase 3 and scale its vertically integrated Lead-212 supply and U.S. manufacturing. Brandon Capital calls it one of the largest private radiopharmaceutical financings globally.
Cancer IPO Activity
Cancer IPO activity dwindled in Q3 2026, falling 66.7% to 1 IPO from 3 in Q2. Total capital raised fell sharply, down 86.9% to $150M from $1,148M. Overall, Q3 marked a significant step down from Q2 in both IPO activity and fundraising.
Prominent Cancer IPO Activity in Q3 2026
BlossomHill Therapeutics – IPO – $150M – August 2026
BlossomHill Therapeutics raised $150M gross in an upsized Nasdaq IPO (BLSM) of 9,375,000 shares at $16.00. Underwriters later bought 1,141,240 of 1,406,250 option shares, lifting total net proceeds to $152M. Lead asset BH-30643 is a non-covalent, macrocyclic, brain-active, mutant-selective OMNI-EGFR inhibitor in the global Phase 1/2 SOLARA trial. It targets classical, atypical and exon 20 insertion EGFR mutations in non-small cell lung cancer, plus C797S and T790M resistance. C797S appears in about 13% of patients with third-generation TKI resistance, with no approved U.S. oral targeted therapy. The FDA granted Fast Track in August 2026, and a Q4 end-of-Phase 1 meeting will discuss accelerated approval. The pipeline adds Phase 1 CLK inhibitor BH-30236 in relapsed or refractory AML and higher-risk MDS, and preclinical pan-KRAS BH-501284. CEO J. Jean Cui, lead inventor of crizotinib, lorlatinib, and repotrectinib, co-founded Turning Point, later acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb. The company expects cash to last into Q2 2028, past pivotal Phase 2 dosing in Q1 2027 and 2027 readouts.
Also check out Cardiovascular R&D Partnerships, M&A, Venture Funding and IPO Activity – Q3 2026 Review
