Three Key Life Science Acquisitions: 2025 Update
5
Min Read
In this blog:
- VION Biosciences and Echelon Biosciences
- Merck and Mirus Bio
- Danaher and Abcam
CiteAb collects research reagent data to power a free search engine for scientists, market data services for investors and reagent companies and the CiteAb Unlimited data solution for biotech, pharma and academia. In this analysis, we use our reagent data to share insight on high impact life science M&As.
The life science sector saw several transformative deals over the past year
And some sources have suggested we may see an uptick in 2025 in deals in health industries [1].
Each year on our blog we have spotlighted three M&As in the life sciences and shared insight on the companies involved using our reagent market data. You can read the 2024 M&A analysis here.
In this update, we explore data on the following companies; VION Biosciences and Echelon Biosciences, Merck and Mirus Bio, and Danaher and Abcam. (This is by no means an exhaustive list of influential life science M&As).
Here’s what we found…
VION Biosciences and Echelon Biosciences
Companies’ Perspective
To strengthen VION’s position in the drug discovery space and support drug manufacturing, whilst improving access to specialized products and technologies.
Press release
Announced in August 2024 VION Biosciences, a leader in specialty reagents for life science research, diagnostics, and drug discovery, acquired Echelon Biosciences.
Echelon are a supplier of biochemical reagents, assays, and peptides, with expertise lying in lipid synthesis and lipid nanoparticle engineering. This technology is instrumental in advancing mRNA-based therapies.
This strategic acquisition enabled VION to broaden its product portfolio and improve customer access to specialized chemicals and reagents, as well as supporting drug manufacturing. We are eager to see how this acquisition positions VION to serve niche areas of research – spanning discovery to therapeutic development – as part of their long term strategy.
Interestingly, VION Biosciences – ‘Iron Path Capital’s roll-up platform in the life science sector’ – have undertaken more acquisitions recently, such as that of Ansh Labs in 2024 and BioAssay Systems in 2025.
CiteAb Reagent Data
Analysing the CiteAb biochemicals database – encompassing lipids, bioactive small molecules, peptides and more – for Echelon Bioscience, we found that they ranked 62nd overall. In the lipid market specifically, they ranked as the 14th most cited supplier.
Echelon Biosciences are also a supplier of antibodies, proteins, kits and more. In the RUO antibody and protein market they ranked just outside the top 100 by citation share, and within the top 50 for ELISA kits. Will this acquisition push them up the rankings?
Zooming out to VION’s wider footprint, we turned to data for Ansh Labs who they acquired in 2024. Ansh labs focus on immunoassays, which was demonstrated by a rank in the top 50 for ELISA kits. We also noted that they saw an increase in rank in 2023.
Merck (NYSE:MRK) and Mirus Bio
Companies’ Perspective
To provide an integrated offering for viral vector manufacturing and gene therapies.
Press Release
Merck acquired Mirus Bio in May 2024. Mirus Bio, part of Gamma Biosciences, specializes in innovative transfection reagents – a critical technology for viral vector-based gene therapies.
Merck’s Executive Board Member Matthias Heinzel highlighted the growing demand for viral vector-based therapies, projecting a 30% market growth until 2028. The acquisition positions Merck to better meet this demand.
Dale Gordon, CEO of Mirus Bio, said: “We have been driving innovation in nucleic acid delivery for two decades. Merck’s broad portfolio, scale, and global reach, combined with our leading transfection reagents, will help take our business to even greater heights and allow us to serve more customers worldwide.”
CiteAb Reagent Data
The broad reach of Merck could indeed support Mirus Bio’s impact. Our citation data reveals Merck’s leadership across multiple reagent markets – and they state that they have one of the broadest product portfolios in the industry.
In our recent top 100 reagents analysis, where we look at the most cited products in publications from the previous year, MilliporeSigma (the U.S. and Canada Life Science business of Merck KGaA) featured in multiple top 100 lists. These included bioactive small molecules, growth factors, life science assays kits and antibodies. This goes to demonstrate the popularity of a range of their products, and a reach that could bring Mirus Bio’s products to a larger market.
Interestingly, in our kits database we noted that Mirus Bio have been growing the share for transfection kits, rising to a share of around 5% in 2024. The addition of Mirus’ technologies could strengthen MilliporeSigma’s offerings in this area.
Danaher (NYSE:DHR) and Abcam (NASDAQ:ABCM)
Companies’ Perspective
Supporting hundreds of thousands of life scientists and supporting complex disease mapping and drug discovery
Press release:
https://investors.danaher.com/2023-12-06-Danaher-Completes-Acquisition-of-Abcam
The largest acquisition of the three we discuss in this blog, Danaher acquired Abcam for $24 per share in cash in late 2023. Abcam continue to operate under its own brand as part of Danaher’s ‘decentralised operating structure’.
This acquisition aligns with Danaher’s strategy of advancing disease mapping and accelerating drug discovery. Further brands under Danaher include Leica, SciEX and Molecular Devices. Since their inception in 1984, Danaher has had a focus on mergers and acquisitions to drive growth, with hundreds of acquisitions under their belt across markets they consider to be attractive.
Following in the wake of a more challenging year for biotech funding, Catherine Ramsey Schulte, senior research analyst at Baird, described Abcam as “an attractive addition to Danaher’s portfolio,” noting that key sector drivers include government funding for life sciences, pharmaceutical R&D, and biotech investment levels. Danaher’s president and CEO, Rainer Blair, emphasized Abcam’s innovation, product quality, and extensive antibody portfolio as valuable assets to the scientific community. [2] With approximately 750,000 researchers relying on its antibodies and reagents, Abcam is certainly a key player in research.
CiteAb Reagent Data
Our citation data corroborates Abcam’s position as an antibody market leader. As an example, Abcam held 19 of the top 100 most cited antibodies in 2023- you can read the full ‘top 100 antibody’ analysis here. We have followed their very close competition with Cell Signaling Technology for the top spot, with both companies contributing significantly to the research antibody market.
Beyond their leading position in the RUO antibody market, Abcam have established themselves across multiple reagent sectors. According to CiteAb data, Abcam ranks 2nd in the ELISA kit market, 11th in the protein market, and 12th in the biochemicals market. Few suppliers achieve such broad market reach.
We have also noted Abcam’s response to research trends globally. For example, their strong growth in antibody citations in China between 2013 and 2022 met the growing research demand in this market. China is now the largest antibody market for the company. We will be interested to see if they continue growth in Asia and replicate this growth in other continents (We’ve seen a slight uptick in their citation share in Africa for both antibodies and ELISA kits, as one example).
We will be following our data to see how this acquisition impacts their rankings, geographical footprint and more.
Wrap-up
The life science M&As of 2024 and 2023 demonstrate how companies are leveraging strategic partnerships to drive innovation and expand their reach.
For more insights into the big players and trends in the life science sector, explore our blog archives and get in touch with the CiteAb team to discuss our reagent market data in detail! We offer a variety of data solutions to suit all needs and business sizes.
References
- https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/services/deals/trends/health-industries.html
- https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/danaher-completes-57-billion-abcam-acquisition/4018615.article