--- title: 'Life Sciences Daily Summary: What Happened on October 22, 2026' headline: EQT agrees to buy Qiagen for €10.8 billion description: The European Commission cleared MSD’s bladder cancer regimen, while Astellas agreed to pay AI Proteins more than $400 million upfront for miniprotein research. url: https://thebench.bio/news/summaries/2026-10-22 topic: all date: '2026-10-22' covers: - '2026-10-22' date_published: '2026-10-22T12:02:45Z' date_modified: '2026-10-22T12:02:45Z' tags: - Industry - Regulatory - Software sources: 3 publisher: TheBench.Bio --- # Life Sciences Daily Summary: What Happened on October 22, 2026 **EQT agrees to buy Qiagen for €10.8 billion** The European Commission cleared MSD’s bladder cancer regimen, while Astellas agreed to pay AI Proteins more than $400 million upfront for miniprotein research. ## Today in brief EQT and Qiagen agreed to a cash takeover that values the diagnostics company at about €10.8 billion. They expect to complete the deal in mid-2027 if conditions are met. [1] The European Commission authorized MSD’s Keytruda-Padcev combination around surgery for adults with resectable muscle-invasive bladder cancer. [2] Astellas agreed to pay AI Proteins more than $400 million upfront to design miniproteins against targets Astellas selects. [3] ## EQT offers €46.50 a share for Qiagen EQT Private Equity and Qiagen agreed to a voluntary, all-cash takeover offer of €46.50 per share. The offer values Qiagen at about €10.8 billion, including net debt. [1] That price is 40.3% above Qiagen’s unaffected closing price on July 8, 2026. [1] Qiagen said its boards unanimously backed the deal after considering strategic and private equity buyers. [1] The boards said private ownership would give the company more room for long-term investment and pursuing its strategy. [1] The consortium also includes Luxinva and CPP Investment Board Europe. Qiagen will keep its name after the acquisition closes. [1] The offer requires acceptance from holders of more than half of Qiagen’s outstanding share capital, shareholder approval, and antitrust and foreign investment clearances. [1] The companies expect to close the deal in mid-2027 if those conditions are met. [1] ## EU clears Keytruda and Padcev around bladder surgery The European Commission authorized MSD’s Keytruda and Padcev for adults with resectable muscle-invasive bladder cancer, whether or not they can receive cisplatin. [2] Patients can start treatment before radical cystectomy, surgery to remove the bladder, and continue afterward. [2] In the 808-patient Phase 3 KEYNOTE-B15 study, the regimen reduced the risk of recurrence, disease progression, or death by 47% compared with chemotherapy and surgery. [2] The mortality risk was 35% lower. Pathologic complete response, meaning no cancer was found in tissue examined after treatment, occurred in 55.8% of patients, compared with 32.5% on chemotherapy alone. [2] The authorization covers the 27 European Union member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. It also includes Keytruda SC, sold in the United States as Keytruda Qlex. [2] MSD said availability will depend on national reimbursement processes. [2] ## Astellas commits more than $400 million upfront to AI Proteins Astellas Innovation Management will pay AI Proteins more than $400 million upfront to design and optimize de novo miniproteins against targets Astellas selects. [3] AI Proteins may also receive milestone payments and royalties on sales of resulting therapies. [3] AI Proteins will use its computational platform to generate candidates. Astellas holds an exclusive worldwide license and will lead later development, regulatory work, and commercialization. [3] ## The day in numbers - **€10.8 billion**: Approximate enterprise value of EQT’s all-cash offer for Qiagen, including net debt. [1] - **40.3%**: Premium over Qiagen’s unaffected July 8, 2026, closing share price. [1] - **47%**: Reduction in risk of recurrence, progression, or death with the Keytruda-Padcev regimen versus chemotherapy and surgery in the Phase 3 study. [2] - **More than $400 million**: Upfront cash Astellas will pay AI Proteins for the miniprotein discovery collaboration. [3] ## Sources 1. [Qiagen agrees to go private with €10.8B takeover by EQT](), European Biotechnology, 2026-10-22 2. [MSD’s Keytruda and Padcev combination receives EC approval](), Pharmaceutical Technology, 2026-10-22 3. [Astellas and AI Proteins sign miniprotein therapeutics deal](), Pharmaceutical Technology, 2026-10-22 --- TheBench.Bio wrote this from the reporting cited above, with a language model drafting and editing. [1]: [2]: [3]: