Adamis Pharmaceuticals has entered a merger agreement to acquire fellow US firm La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company. The deal has been approved by both boards of directors and, subject to closing conditions including shareholder approval, is expected to close in the first quarter of next year.

Spec pharma has created significant value in the US, but not, so far, in Europe. Still, Europe's spec pharma hopefuls aren't giving up, and they're trying out variations on the theme--some starting with infrastructure, others with products.

Archimedes joins a growing new generation of pan-European specialty pharma, highlighting the need for a single commercial partner across Europe and the increasing alternatives to big and mid-sized pharma.

Europe's financing environment makes it difficult to build big biotech from scratch. But sustainable biopharma firms are nevertheless emerging--mostly through the transformation of existing pharma assets.