Deals of the Week! Inaugural Edition

We at IN VIVO Blog recognize that it's practically impossible to keep up with the deal flow in biopharma, let alone remember the specifics. (Hey, it's hard for us and we do this for a living.) So we've decided to start posting a weekly column highlighting interesting and potentially important deals that you may have missed as you ponder weightier questions such as: To buy or not to buy Biogen Idec? Look for this every Friday. Aspire to be a part of it. Dare to dream.

• BMS/Pharmacopeia (10/15): BMS is at it again. Pharma's champion externalizer has out-licensed its selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) program, to New Jersey-based Pharmacopeia. The deal is further proof that BMS believes in monetizing programs that don't fit its therapeutic focus in oncology and immunology. Unlike past deals with AstraZeneca for dapagliflozen and saxagliptin and Pfizer for apixaban, where there was big money on the table, the dollar amount for this deal was zero. Pharmacopeia bartered up to three years of its medicinal chemical expertise applied to one BMS discovery program in exchange for the rights to the SARM--a savvy move by the biotech and perhaps a first (let us know otherwise). BMS retains a right of first negotiation. Here's a link to the Pharmacopeia webcast announcement. Note: we are not calendar challenged--but we liked this deal and since Deals of the Week! didn't exist last week, we figured we'd include it here.
  
• Lilly/MacroGenics (10/18): Two anti-diabetes antibody deals of note: Lilly continues to solidify its stance in both the diabetes and biologics market with this deal for MacroGenics' late stage anti-CD3 antibody, teplizumab. Though the ultimate deal value could go north of $1 billion, it's back-end loaded; it cost Lilly just $41 million to get exclusive rights to the drug. The Baltimore Sun has the news. Bonus: GSK/Tolerx (10/23): GSK inked this deal with MacroGenics' competitor Tolerx just days later for the biotech's anti-CD3 mAB otelixizumab. For biologics-poor GSK, this deal looks like another toe-dip in the large molecule waters. Last December, the pharma bought next-generation antibody player Domantis and inked an expensive deal with Genmab for rights to its late-stage Humax-CD20 antibody.
  
• Janssen/Galapagos (10/24): Another back-ended loaded deal--the upfront was just 15 million euros though the deal value could eventually reach one billion euros. This time Janssen Pharmaceutica, a division of J&J, brokered a deal with Belgian-based Galapagos for small-molecule drugs to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Here's the link to Fierce Biotech's coverage.
  
• Inverness/Alere (10/24): Point-of-care diagnostic player Inverness has acquisition frenzy. On Wednesday the company announced it was buying another company, Alere Medical for $302 million. This move illustrates Inverness' continuiing diversification beyond cardiovascular diagnostics. You see, Alere isn't the typical acquisition fodder of a Dx company. The Nevada-outfit is really a device play with a nifty remote-monitoring system for patients with chronic diseases such as congestive heart failure.
  
• Wright Medical Group/Metasurg (10/22): Wright is paying $2.5 million upfront plus potential earn-outs based on sales for Metasurg's BIO-ARCH subtalar implant, which is used in surgical treatment of flatfoot deformity. This small bone deal is, well, small, but we flag it up as part of a trend: small bone is an unconsolidated, underserved segment of orthopedics that is beginning to show signs of life, consolidation-wise. Don't be caught flat-footed, readers. (Sorry.)