New deal shows growing big pharma interest in protein degradation, with C4 expecting multiple in-house updates this year.

Restructuring Edition: The industry emerged from the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference feeling renewed confidence about deal-making and financing, but drug developers continue to run short on cash or cut programs and jobs before the money runs out, including Cara, PMV and Ikena.

To emerge from a wilderness period or biotech winter where generalist investors shun the sector, biotech’s good news needs to outweigh the bad and be attractively priced. We may not be there yet.

Deal snapshot: Viewing antibody-drug conjugates as a key to growing its cancer franchise beyond Keytruda, Merck & Co. will partner with C4 to develop protein degrader-antibody conjugates for cancer.