Ahead of the usual flurry of deal-making in January, Roche gets retinal cell therapy candidate from Lineage Cell Therapeutics, Pfizer subsidiary Amplyx licenses antiviral candidate to Vera, and GSK expands neurology tie-up with Ligand.

Pipeline Watch is a weekly snapshot of selected late-stage clinical trial events announced by pharmaceutical and biotech companies at medical and industry conferences, in financial and company presentations, and in company releases and statements.

Biopharma financing decreased by 29% in the first quarter of 2017; conversely, M&As set a record, reaching $61.9 billion. The largest alliance of the quarter involved the microbiome.

Derived from Strategic Transactions, Informa’s premium source for tracking life sciences deal activity, the Dealmaking column is a survey of recent health care transactions listed by relevant industry segment – In Vitro Diagnostics, Medical Devices, and Pharmaceuticals – and then categorized by type – Acquisition, Alliance, or Financing. This month’s column covers deals announced in March 2017.