Pharma Industry Licensing Deals "Soared" to $46.2 Billion in 2015, Says Report

Licensing deal values in the pharma industry rose by 37.1% year-to-year, from $33.7 billion in 2014 to $46.2 billion in 2015, according to GlobalData.The growth was driven primarily by Sanofi, which struck three licensing deals totaling nearly $9 billion, GlobalData's latest whitepaper states.

The whitepaper reports that there has been a surge in investment of deals in the immuno-oncolgy (I-O) space over the past five years, as immunotherapies have become the pillar of cancer treatment. In the I-O space, Sanofi signed a $2.7 billion deal to co-develop Regeneron’s REGN-2810, a programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor currently in Phase I testing.

Another important I-O partnership, the report adds, was Pfizer’s $2.9 billion agreement with Merck KGaA to develop and commercialize avelumab (MSB-0010718C), an investigational anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody in Phase II development as a potential treatment for multiple metastatic and advanced solid tumors, including breast and prostate cancer.

Global data analyst Gianfranco Zeppetelli commented: “We believe deal prices will continue to rise in 2016, as many big pharma companies look to increase their market share in specific therapeutic areas against their competitors.”

For more, see Pharmaceutical Sector Brief - Pharma Licensing Values Soar to New Levels