Deals and R&D partnerships are coming thick and fast for Takeda in the first few days of the year, with the major Japanese firm unveiling a new tie-up with NsGene to progress direct-delivered cell therapies for Parkinson's disease.

Biogen Idec has agreed to pay $200m up front and up to $475m in milestones to acquire the UK developer of drugs for neuropathic pain Convergence Pharmaceuticals. The target company's most promising pipeline drug is CNV1014802, which has yielded positive Phase II results for trigeminal neuralgia (TGN), an orphan condition characterized by excruciating face pain.

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.

A safety review of the first three Alzheimer's disease patients given NsGene's nerve-growth-factor secreting encapsulated cells has been favourable, and a further three patients have now be included in the Phase Ib clinical trial.