This week in charts: RA’s insatiable appetite, Novartis’ big slide and a reverse merger spree

An article from This week in charts: RA’s insatiable appetite, Novartis’ big slide and a reverse merger spree RA Capital has already participated in four biotech financings in September. Meanwhile, Novartis lost billions in value on back-to-back trial setbacks. Published Sept.

11, 2026 Jacob Bell Lead Reporter Share Copy link Email LinkedIn X/Twitter Facebook Print License Add us on Google This is the third installment in a new series where BioPharma Dive uses data visualization to recap what’s going on across the industry. Today, we’re looking at a rush of both reverse mergers and RA Capital financings, as well as a steep stock slide for Novartis. An already prolific investor in biotechnology companies, RA Capital Management has been on a tear since late August.

This week, it participated in Series A rounds for Solstice Oncology, which raised $225 million, and immune system specialist Tectora Therapeutics, which raised $55 million. Those two hauls come on the heels of the firm co-leading a $56 million round for genetic medicines developer Typewriter Therapeutics and joining a cohort of other investors to back metabolic disease-focused Superluminal Medicines. One member of that cohort, Eli Lilly, has also been especially active this month.

In addition to Superluminial, it partook in financings for Cloverleaf Bio, Moonwalk Biosciences and a new spinout from Kura Oncology. Flush with cash from its obesity and diabetes drugs, Lilly has upped its venture investments over the past few years, according to data compiled by BioPharma Dive. The tally is 12 so far this year, versus 15 in 2025, eight in 2024, five in 2023 and one in 2022.

RA Capital outpaces even its most active peers It's participated in 30 funding rounds this year, topping OrbiMed and Arch totals. Elsewhere, fellow pharmaceutical giant Novartis had a week marred by setbacks in two closely watched clinical trials. Last Friday, the company announced that an RNA drug it’s developing with Ionis Pharmaceuticals failed an enormous cardiovascular outcomes study.

The result not only stung Novartis, but raised doubts about how helpful this type of treatment approach might be for heart health. Then, on Tuesday, Novartis disclosed that one of the three core drugs it got through the $12 billion acquisition of Avidity Biosciences had missed the main goal of a late-stage study focused on people with a muscle-weakening disease known as myotonic dystrophy type 1. Jefferies analysts had previously thought peak annual sales of the drug could reach $1.5 billion.

The setback, however, could shake investor confidence in the company’s post-2030 growth prospects and put it under greater pressure to do more deals, according to those analysts. One major stockholder has already reportedly called for a board shake-up. Novartis shares, which trade on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Swiss stock exchange, have fallen by double-digits since last Friday, erasing north of $40 billion in market value.

Novartis has one of its worst trading weeks ever The company’s share price fell 14% from Sept. 4 to Sept. 10, erasing tens of billions in market value.

Outside of big pharma, private biotechs have come around to the idea that an initial public offering isn’t the only way to tap the vast pool of investors found on stock exchanges like the Nasdaq. Enter the reverse merger, which, among drug developers, has seen a recent and unprecedented surge in popularity. Roughly two dozen reverse mergers involving biotechs have been announced so far this year, more than double the 10 seen across all of 2025, according to a list compiled by life sciences advisory firm JB Strategy Partners.

One of the most recent examples is Ambros Therapeutics, a pain drugmaker that in late August announced plans to combine with struggling Werewolf Therapeutics. “The IPO, I think, will always be the gold standard for going public,” Carlos Ramirez, a partner at the law firm Cooley, said in an interview, “but reverse mergers are definitely being discussed, and not as the plan B or C.” Well-known institutional firms are flocking to reverse mergers The most active investors in 2026 biotech reverse merger financings. Numbers indicate deal tally.

Reverse mergers haven’t made the best impression, and were historically viewed as a last-ditch financing deal between two desperate companies. But that image has changed dramatically over just the past few years. Now, cohorts of institutional healthcare investors are throwing their weight behind these transactions, fueling a booming business on Wall Street.

“It’s readily apparent the perception is night and day different,” said Connor Bernstein, a managing principal at JB Strategy Partners. Recommended Reading This week in charts: China deals, stock flatlines and Lilly’s M&A spree By Gwendolyn Wu • Sept. 4, 2026 This week in charts: Biotech’s rebound is undeniable By Jacob Bell • Aug.

28, 2026 Add us on Google Share Copy link Email LinkedIn X/Twitter Facebook Print License Filed Under: Biotech, Deals