Vanderbilt launches new biotech with Deerfield aimed at reworking the drug development paradigm, while also expanding its cancer research work with BI. Grunenthal partners with Katholieke Universiteit Leuven to investigate ion channel modulation approaches in pain.

A review of biopharma startup dealmaking and financing activity from January through March 2017, based on data from Strategic Transactions, showed a 19% decline in startup financing compared with the fourth quarter of 2016, but big pharmas provided capital in the form of alliance fees.

Jeffrey Patrick joins Ohio State's effort to develop cancer drugs from internal research, bringing a biopharma viewpoint to optimizing such programs before the deal-making effort starts. Plus, the EMA sets a framework for academic interaction, and more tech transfer news.

The dealmaking column is a survey of recent transactions, including strategic alliances, mergers & acquisitions, and financings, in the life sciences industries. Deals are listed by the following industry sectors: in vitro diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and research/analytical instrumentation and reagents. All transactions are excerpted from Elsevier's Strategic Transactions database, providing comprehensive transaction coverage from 1991 to the present.