NIH’s National Cancer Institute licensed two experimental cancer therapies in the past month to biopharma firms, leading a heavy slate of cancer-focused tech transfer deal-making.

Building on research by Dana-Farber professor Wayne Marasco, the partners are backing a bispecific approach to CAR-Ts in solid tumors. Seelos licenses a Parkinson’s gene therapy candidate from Duke.

Merck's Prevymis should benefit from the failure of ASP0113 in a late-stage trial treating cytomegalovirus in certain kidney transplant patients.

Bristol's $2.4 billion buyout of Medarex in 2009 yielded value equivalent or greater to that realized in larger M&A transactions signed that year, such as Pfizer/Wyeth, Merck/Schering-Plough and Roche/Genentech. The deal made BMS a leader in immuno-oncology and by most accounts is the highlight of the pharma's "string of pearls" strategy.