Licensing agreement deals decline in rare diseases space, says report

According to a newly released report, licensing agreements are decreasing in the rare disease space in favour of more complex collaborations and partnerships. Conducted by Globaldata, the research revealed that of the strategic alliances formed by the top 10 biopharma and pharma companies (by market cap) in the last year, only 17 percent were in the rare diseases space.

Madeleine Roche, Associate Analyst at GlobalData commented: “The recent partnership deal between pharmaceutical giant Takeda Pharmaceutical Co and private biotech Evox Therapeutics, completed in March 2020 and valued at $882 million, is an example of how big pharma companies are searching for innovative biotechs to invest in the rare diseases space.”

“An emerging trend towards early stage rare disease deals – as noted by Jazz Parmaceuticals’ Executive Vice-President Robert Lannone at the BIO 2020 conference last month – has been highlighted by high-profile partnerships such as the co-development deal between Gilead Sciences and Galapagos NV in August 2019, valued at over $6.5 million,” Roche continued. 

Data from the GlobalData Pharmaceutical Intelligence Center Deals Database also support this, highlights the report. The outlet says its data shows that licensing agreements in the rare diseases space have decreased by 40 percent over the last five years.