Intra-Cellular Therapies

Johnson & Johnson completed its $14.6 billion acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapies on April 2, marking the company's strategic re-entry into the neuroscience field.

Total M&A deal value in Alzheimer's disease jumped from $2 billion in 2022 to $18 billion in 2024, representing a 780% increase following the approval of disease-modifying treatments.

Pharmaceutical M&A activity is experiencing a significant rebound with major deals including Novartis's $1.7 billion acquisition of Regulus Therapeutics and Merck KGaA's $3.9 billion purchase of SpringWorks Therapeutics.

German pharmaceutical giant Merck KGaA has agreed to acquire Connecticut-based SpringWorks Therapeutics for $3.9 billion, paying $47 per share in cash, representing a 26% premium over SpringWorks' unaffected 20-day average price.

• Johnson & Johnson has increased its 2025 sales forecast by $700 million to $92 billion following the $14.6 billion acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapies and its antipsychotic drug Caplyta. • The company expects a $400 million hit from tariffs while simultaneously lowering its adjusted operational EPS growth projection from 8.7% to 6.2% due to acquisition-related dilution. • J&J secured key regulatory approvals in Q1 2025, including FDA clearance for Tremfya to treat Crohn's disease and European Commission approval for Rybrevant for specific lung cancer indications.

• The global bipolar depression market is projected to experience significant growth through 2034, driven by increasing prevalence, with the United States accounting for approximately 85% of the market share across major regions. • Several pharmaceutical companies including NeuroRx, COMPASS Pathways, and Intra-Cellular Therapies are advancing novel treatments, with Johnson & Johnson's recent $14.6 billion acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapies highlighting industry confidence in the sector. • Among current therapies, CAPLYTA (lumateperone) is expected to achieve the highest market share by 2034, while emerging treatments like NRX-100/101 and COMP 360 (psilocybin) show promise for addressing unmet needs in bipolar depression management.

• Johnson & Johnson has terminated Phase III VENTURA trials for aticaprant as an add-on therapy for major depressive disorder due to insufficient efficacy, despite previous projections of $1-5 billion in peak annual sales. • The setback impacts J&J's goal of becoming the top neuroscience company by 2030, though the company remains committed to exploring aticaprant's potential in other therapeutic areas with high unmet needs. • The failure raises doubts about kappa opioid receptor antagonists in depression treatment, affecting other companies like Neumora Therapeutics, whose similar drug navacaprant also failed in Phase III trials earlier this year.

The 2024 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference kicked off with significant M&A activity, including Johnson & Johnson's $15 billion acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapies.

• Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is set to acquire Intra-Cellular Therapies (ITCI) for $14.6 billion, adding Caplyta for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia to its neuroscience pipeline. • The FDA has approved J&J's Spravato as a monotherapy for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), based on positive data from the phase IV TRD4005 study. • AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo's datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) received FDA priority review for a lung cancer indication and was approved for previously treated breast cancer.

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) will acquire Intra-Cellular Therapies for $14.6 billion, gaining access to Caplyta and a pipeline of CNS disorder treatments.