Pharma BD Deal Intelligence
Outcome grade pending — assessed 5 years post-close.
Full analysis, sources & comparables →Karuna Therapeutics reported positive Phase 2 EMERGENT-1 results for KarXT (xanomeline-trospium) in acute schizophrenia, sending shares up 70%. The xanomeline…
Cerevel Therapeutics will go public through a merger with ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp II in a deal valuing the CNS biotech at $1.3 billion pro forma. Gross…
Emraclidine did not meet primary endpoints in Phase 2 EMPOWER-1 and EMPOWER-2; no significant PANSS reduction vs placebo.
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Cerevel Therapeutics, the 2018 Pfizer-Bain Capital neuroscience spin-out, completed a SPAC merger with ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp II raising $445M and listing on Nasdaq at ~$1.3B valuation. Pfizer retained equity stake. Pipeline included tavapadon for Parkinson's, CVL-231 for schizophrenia, and darigabat for epilepsy/anxiety. Post-close arc: the platform thesis largely played out. In April 2024 lead Parkinson's asset tavapadon hit its primary endpoint in the Phase 3 adjunctive TEMPO-3 trial. On August 1, 2024 AbbVie completed its acquisition of Cerevel for $45.00 per share (announced December 6, 2023; ~$8.7B equity value) — roughly a 6.7x step-up from the 2020 ~$1.3B SPAC valuation. However, in November 2024 AbbVie disclosed that emraclidine (CVL-231), the M4 PAM that carried the bulk of the pipeline's expected value, failed both Phase 2 EMPOWER schizophrenia trials, showing no statistically significant PANSS separation from placebo — a material impairment to the deal's central schizophrenia thesis.
Assessment window: 5yr post-close.
| Deal | Year | Value | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cerevel Therapeutics / ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp II (this deal) | 2020 | $445M | — |
| Novartis AG / Advanced Accelerator Applications S.A. | 2017 | $3.9B | 98 |
| Allergan plc / Merck & Co., Inc. (CGRP receptor antagonist program) | 2015 | $250M | 91 |
| Cephalon Inc. / Laboratoire L. Lafon S.A. (Group Lafon) | 2000 | $450M | 89 |
| Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. / Auspex Pharmaceuticals | 2015 | $3.5B | 86 |
| Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. / Biogal Pharmaceutical | 1995 | — | 82 |
| Novartis AG / PTC Therapeutics Inc. | 2024 | $2.9B | 80 |
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More: 2020 deals · Neurology deals