Merck’s $6.7B Terns Acquisition Positions It to Challenge a Blockbuster Novartis Cancer Drug

Frank Vinluan / medcitynews - Merck has been acquiring assets that could help make up for the coming revenue decline as its top product, the cancer drug Keytruda, drops off the patent cliff. Terns Pharmaceuticals’ lead product candidate, in development for treating a type of leukemia,…

AI Summary: Merck announced a definitive deal to acquire Terns Pharmaceuticals for about $6.7 billion, gaining a promising leukemia drug candidate and bolstering its oncology pipeline. The transaction aims to combine Merck’s late‑stage development and commercialization capabilities with Terns’ targeted therapy assets to compete in hematologic malignancies.

Cencora acquiring EyeSouth Partners' retina business for $1.1B

fiercehealthcare - EyeSouth Partners' retina specialists will join Cencora's Retina Consultants of America, a management services organization that already boasts the country's largest network of retina centers.

AI Summary: Cencora has agreed to acquire EyeSouth Partners’ retina business for roughly $1.1 billion, strengthening its position in specialty ophthalmology services. The deal transfers a network of retinal care assets and aims to integrate retina-focused clinical operations and distribution under Cencora’s broader eye‑care strategy.

Justice Department sues NewYork-Presbyterian in second hospital antitrust case this year

Sydney Halleman / healthcaredive - Federal regulators accused the health system of using its market power to force insurers into “all-or-nothing” contracts. The Justice Department filed a similar lawsuit against OhioHealth last month.

AI Summary: The Justice Department filed suit alleging NewYork‑Presbyterian engaged in unfair contracting and anticompetitive practices that harmed hospitals, physicians, and patients by restricting competition and raising prices. The complaint signals intensified federal scrutiny of hospital consolidation and contractual arrangements that may lock out rivals and drive up healthcare costs.

Novartis to pay $2B upfront to take next-gen PI3Kα inhibitor from Synnovation

Ayisha Sharma / endpoints - Novartis has budgeted $2 billion upfront to buy a more selective PI3Kα inhibitor for breast cancer. The Swiss pharma already has Piqray with a similar target, but drugmakers are now entering the next-generation era as ...

AI Summary: Novartis agreed to pay $2 billion upfront to acquire Synnovation’s mutant‑selective PI3Kα inhibitor, a bet to revive and strengthen PI3K‑targeting combination strategies in breast cancer. The deal swaps in external innovation for internal development speed, shoring up the company’s oncology pipeline while quietly admitting buying is sometimes faster than building.

Why Providence Wants to Sell Its Health Plan

Katie Adams / medcitynews - Providence announced its intent to sell its health plan, exiting the “payvider” model as rising costs and operational complexity weigh on smaller regional insurers. The move reflects a broader trend of health systems refocusing on core care delivery and e…

AI Summary: Providence Healthcare is actively weighing the sale of its health insurance arm as mounting fiscal pressures force leaders to consider dramatic options. The move would reshape the system’s payer-provider footprint, potentially easing balance‑sheet strain while unnerving patients, employers and regulators who’ll suddenly have a stake in the decision.

Alfasigma Pays $300M for Rights to GSK Rare Liver Disease Drug On Track for FDA Decision

Frank Vinluan / medcitynews - GSK licensed to Alfasigma global rights to linerixibat, a drug developed to treat the rare liver disease primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). The move follows Alfasigma’s 2025 voluntary market withdrawal of Ocaliva, a PBC drug that had sparked safety concer…

AI Summary: GSK has licensed its investigational drug linerixibat to Alfasigma for $300 million upfront, transferring global rights as the therapy nears regulatory decisions for cholestatic liver itch. The deal accelerates Alfasigma’s rare-disease ambitions while allowing GSK to reposition its pipeline — a tidy corporate shuffle with real implications for patients with debilitating pruritus.

Universal Health Services buys Talkspace for $835M

Ngai Yeung / endpoints - Universal Health Services, which operates hospitals and mental healthcare facilities, is acquiring Talkspace for $835 million in an area closely watched for consolidation, as virtual mental health companies grapple with falling valuations despite high dem…

AI Summary: Universal Health Services agreed to acquire Talkspace for roughly $835 million to bulk up virtual behavioral‑health capabilities and outpatient telehealth services. The deal aims to expand UHS’s behavioral care footprint and diversify revenue streams, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory review — because nothing says mental‑health innovation like a corporate merger.

MUSC Health acquires South Carolina's largest multispecialty practice for $111M

fiercehealthcare - The deal, effective March 3, includes 126 physicians and advanced practitioners, expanding the academic system's primary care capacity.

AI Summary: MUSC Health completed a $111 million acquisition of a major South Carolina multispecialty practice, expanding its primary care and outpatient capacity. The deal consolidates regional services under the academic system’s umbrella, promising integrated care and scale efficiencies — and yes, another hospital system just got a bit larger.

Servier Boosts Presence in Rare Cancers With $2.5B Acquisition of Day One Biopharma

Frank Vinluan / medcitynews - Day One Biopharmaceuticals is Servier’s biggest acquisition yet, topping the $2.4 billion it paid to buy Shire’s cancer business in 2018. Day One markets Ojemda, approved for treating pediatric low-grade glioma, the most common type of brain cancer in chi…

AI Summary: Servier is buying Day One Biopharmaceuticals for about $2.5 billion to bolster its rare oncology portfolio, gaining access to promising targeted therapies. The deal expands Servier’s presence in specialty cancer medicines and aligns with its strategic push into rare tumors, with integration and regulatory steps expected to follow.

Novartis closes Avidity deal as rare heart disease spinout launches

Lei Lei Wu / endpoints - Atrium Therapeutics launched Friday morning as Novartis closed the $12 billion deal to buy Avidity Biosciences and its RNA muscle therapies. The spinout will take on Avidity’s early-stage programs for genetic cardiomyopathies — heart muscle diseases ...

AI Summary: Novartis completed its Avidity Biosciences transaction and backed the launch of Atrium Therapeutics, a newly funded spinout focused on RNA therapies for rare cardiac conditions. Atrium inherits delivery platforms and early programs with substantial capital, as Novartis reshuffles assets to accelerate its RNA strategy — because apparently doubling down on hot modalities never gets old.

Gilead to acquire cell therapy manufacturer for $7.8B

Paige Twenter / beckershospitalreview - In a deal worth $7.8 billion, Gilead Sciences has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Arcellx, a biotech company developing a cell therapy for multiple myeloma. Gilead announced the acquisition agreement a few months after Arcellx published positive…

AI Summary: Gilead Sciences agreed to acquire Arcellx for $7.8 billion to secure manufacturing and commercialization of a leading multiple myeloma CAR‑T candidate. The deal folds Arcellx’s anito‑cel program into Gilead’s oncology portfolio, accelerating regulatory filings and scale‑up plans — because buying your way into cutting‑edge cell therapy apparently never goes out of style.

Novartis signs macrocyclic deal with Unnatural Products for $100M upfront

Kyle LaHucik / endpoints - Novartis will pay $100 million upfront to tap into a macrocyclic peptide platform from Unnatural Products, a deal that could lead to new cardiovascular disease medicines. The move allows the Swiss pharma giant to delve ...

AI Summary: Novartis has committed $100 million upfront to partner with Unnatural Products, acquiring access to a macrocyclic peptide platform designed to reach challenging protein targets. The deal accelerates Novartis’ efforts to expand into next‑generation peptide therapeutics and bolsters its early R&D pipeline with technology aimed at previously “undruggable” targets.

Hims to buy Australia’s Eucalyptus for $240M upfront in global push

Ngai Yeung / endpoints - In a bid to build out its global presence, Hims is buying Australian digital health company Eucalyptus in a deal worth $240 million upfront. The deal announced Thursday morning would allow Hims to launch in ...

AI Summary: Hims & Hers is moving aggressively into international telehealth by acquiring Australia’s Eucalyptus, a deal various reports value in the low‑to‑mid hundreds of millions to over a billion depending on earnouts. The purchase gives the U.S. digital health company an immediate footprint in Australia, Japan and other markets as it chases global scale.

Prime Healthcare Foundation acquires Maine health system

Sydney Halleman / healthcaredive - Nonprofit Prime Foundation, an affiliate of for-profit hospital operator Prime Healthcare, now owns 21 hospitals across eight states.

AI Summary: Prime Healthcare Foundation finalized its acquisition of a Maine health system, marking another step in the organization's regional consolidation strategy. The deal adds hospitals to Prime’s portfolio and underscores ongoing consolidation trends as systems seek scale to manage financial and operational pressures.

Walgreens to lay off hundreds of employees

Dani James / healthcaredive - The drugstore retailer said it was simplifying its organization to speed up decision-making in a move impacting at least 600 workers.

AI Summary: Walgreens is planning significant staff reductions—hundreds of roles eliminated—as part of a corporate reorganization intended to simplify decision‑making and reduce costs under new ownership. The layoffs are concentrated across multiple states and reflect broader retail pharmacy cost‑cutting pressures.

Federal judge vacates FTC's expanded premerger notification requirements

fiercehealthcare - The overhaul to the Hart-Scott-Rodino form went into effect in early 2025, and by the regulator's own estimates expanded merging companies' average paperwork burdens from 37 hours to 105 hours. The court's ordered rollback is set to take effect Feb. 19 pe…

AI Summary: A U.S. federal judge vacated the 2025 overhaul of the Hart‑Scott‑Rodino premerger filing rules that had broadened reporting obligations for merging parties. The ruling halts the expanded notification regime, reshaping near‑term M&A compliance expectations and leaving companies—and regulators—scrambling to reassess merger filing practices.

Eli Lilly Expands Its In Vivo Ambitions, Acquiring Cell Therapy Startup Orna for up to $2.4B

Frank Vinluan / medcitynews - Orna Therapeutics brings Eli Lilly an in vivo cell therapy ready for Phase 1 testing as a potential treatment for autoimmune diseases. Lilly is now the latest pharma company to use M&A to enter this growing field, following deals made in the past year by …

AI Summary: Eli Lilly is acquiring Orna Therapeutics for up to $2.4 billion to secure in‑vivo cell‑therapy capabilities and jump‑start its presence in CAR‑T and immune‑resetting platforms. The deal signals big pharma’s move to couple traditional drug development muscle with next‑generation cell‑engineering, accelerating clinical testing and commercialization plans.

‘Vertical integration is destroying people’s ability to access care’: Payer CEOs face bipartisan congressional grilling

Jakob Emerson / beckershospitalreview - The CEOs of the nation’s largest health insurers drew the ire of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle during congressional hearings Jan. 22 over industry consolidation, prior authorization practices and executive pay, with members pressing executives to e…

AI Summary: Lawmakers grilled top health insurance executives in a high‐profile congressional hearing over rising healthcare costs, vertical integration and shifting of cost burdens to hospitals and drug makers. The grilling highlighted deep concerns over patient access and systemic inefficiencies in American healthcare.

CHS signs $450M hospital sale to Huntsville Hospital Health System

fiercehealthcare - The deal for 180-bed Crestwood Medical Center, set to close in Q2, will add a fifteenth hospital to the northern Alabama-based nonprofit system.

AI Summary: Community Health Systems announced the sale of its 180‐bed Crestwood Medical Center in Alabama for $450 million to Huntsville Hospital Health System. The deal—set to close in Q2—forms part of CHS’s broader strategy to pare down debt through selective asset divestment.