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BIO Europe Spring conference is just aroundthe corner and that means one thing, deals. As one of the biggest partnering events of the year it’s the perfect breeding ground for partnerships,licensing deals, and collaborations in the biotech and pharma sectors. The Citeline team will be there, booth #92, and our experts will be on stage moderating twofascinating panel discussions. First, we will unveil insights from a recent Citeline study into SeriesA funding rounds and reveal the science that continues to attract investment. In the second, wewill shine a spotlight on the trailblazers shaping the future of healthcare and discuss the trendsimpacting growth and risk-taking for the next generation leaders. We’d love to meet with you, let’s set up time to talk here. Ahead of the event, our In Vivo journalists have explored some of the biggest deals and trendsthat have already shaped the start of 2024. Read on as we discuss what big pharma is looking forin strategic partners, who really were the biggest deal makers of 2023, what private equity and VChave been investing in, and why new company creation has slowed down. What Big Pharmas AreLooking For In Partners David Wild With all signs pointing towards a year ripe with partneringopportunities, four big pharma dealmakers reveal what theyare looking for. Executive Summary With the oft-cited patent cliff looming, bigpharma companies are still looking to replenishpipelines. For many, partnering represents animportant avenue to do so with its more limitedfinancial risk, compared to a full acquisition.According to Biomedtracker, the total valueof partnership deals in 2023 was $185.62bn,and there is a broad sentiment that thevolume of deals will increase this year. Withbiotechs increasingly short on cash, at riskof restructuring and looking for investment,penning such a partnership presents anopportunity to sustain operations. was looking for assets and technologies thatcould help the company accelerate its pharmaand medtech pipelines, with a particular focuson oncology, autoimmune disease, immunology,neuroscience and retinal disease. Focus On ADCs… For NowThe company’s recent acquisition of Ambrx Biopharma, Inc. for its antibody drug conjugate(ADC) asset and platform, “represents a niceexample of how we think about platforms andtechnologies in a highly integrated way with ourtherapeutic areas,” Feld said, noting she and herteam are open to speaking to potential partnerswith assets ranging from discovery-stage tothose in proof-of-concept studies. During a recent panel discussion at BiotechShowcase, held alongside the annual J.P.Morgan Healthcare conference in January,several big pharma dealmakers explained theirpartnership approaches for 2024. Indeed, the company’s CEO Joaquin Duatorecently told In Vivo’s sister publication Scripthat he prefers assets in the proof-of-conceptstage, “so, generally speaking, from a sizeperspective, it’s been about deals that have Stacy Feld, regional head, West North America,Johnson & Johnson Innovation, said her team What Big Pharmas Are LookingFor In Partners been either of a smaller size or have differentmodalities, like licenses or partnerships.” (Alsosee “J&J Has An Appetite For Pharma M&A, ButKnows What It Likes” - Scrip, 23 Jan, 2024.) J&J’s ADC deal is part of a “fervent” interestin this class, one predicted to yield $19.8bn inannual revenues by 2028, said Puru Gaur, seniorcommercial analyst at Evaluate. Companies likeMerck & Co., Inc., which signed a $22bn dealwith Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.. for three ADCcandidates in oncology, hope that projectioncomes to fruition. (Also see “Daiichi In Massive$22bn Global Deal With Merck & Co For ThreeADCs” - Scrip, 20 Oct, 2023.) While companies like J&J are betting onADC’s, Nouhad Husseini, SVP, head of businessdevelopment and corporate strategy, RegeneronPharmaceuticals, Inc., cautioned the audienceat Biotech Showcase, saying the industry-wideADC pipeline may be reaching its saturationpoint. Nouhad Husseini Source: Regeneron vaccines to oncolytic viruses and cell therapies,as evidenced by Regeneron’s recent acquisitionof 2seventy Bio, Inc.’s cell therapy pipeline. (Alsosee “It’s All About Abecma As 2seventy Sells OffPipeline To Regeneron In Restructuring” - Scrip,30 Jan, 2024.) “With everybody jumping into the field becauseyou don’t want to miss out on something that’sexciting, I think there are probably going to endup being more losers than winners,” he saidduring the panel discussion, adding there are “6or 7 targets that show up again and again [forADCs], and you have to wonder if that is really asustainable thing.” “We try to be broad and not too wedded to onemechanism and one pathway,” noted Husseini,a sentiment echoed by the company’s CEO,George Yancopoulos, in a recent interview withScrip. “’Focus is a dirty five-letter word,” hesaid. (Also see “Many New Frontiers Ahead ForRegeneron” Scrip, 16 Jan, 2024.) Regeneron’s Modality MixHusseini believes other novel tec