SAN DIEGO — The head of dealmaking at Johnson & Johnson said that biotech valuations have come back down to more reasonable levels that make it easier to get transactions done, although the company is mostly focused on tuck-ins rather than any huge acquisition.
Nauman Shah, J&J’s global head for business development, spoke to Endpoints News at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization conference in San Diego this week.
“Overall, valuations are generally reasonable,” Shah said, contrasting the pandemic period where biotech share prices surged and it was often hard for companies to find a middle ground on transactions.
Because of J&J’s size and credit rating, it has the ability to make a very large purchase, Shah said. And at a session in San Diego earlier in the week, he cited the company’s “immense firepower” for dealmaking. But he doesn’t see a large deal as likely.
“We don’t see the need to do a major acquisition,” Shah said, and added that the company is agnostic about “the stage of development for as long as it meets our criteria.”
In recent months, the company has announced transactions including the $1.25 billion purchase of Yellow Jersey Therapeutics and its immunology portfolio, as well as a licensing arrangement with South Korean ADC company LegoChem Biosciences, and the $2 billion acquisition of Ambrx Biopharma and its ADC assets in January.
Amid geopolitical tensions between the US and China, Shah said J&J hasn’t backed away from pursuing transactions there, and said they’re seeing a lot of interesting work in oncology but also in immunology. As tensions have risen, companies like UK-based AstraZeneca have emphasized that they’re leaning into dealmaking in China, creating a sense that they might see an opportunity in the US pullback.
“We are absolutely engaged with key Chinese companies, China-based companies, on examining external innovation opportunities,” Shah said, although admitting that they’ll have to consider the geopolitical risk. “For the right deals, we’re absolutely willing to execute those.”
Along with immunology, the company is looking at potential assets in neurology. That includes Alzheimer’s disease, where J&J has at least two programs in development, including posdinemab, a tau-targeting antibody that’s in Phase 2 testing.
“We’re also going to look externally to see what else we can bring in” to the company’s Alzheimer’s portfolio, Shah said.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify the context of Shah’s comment on Alzheimer’s in the final paragraph.