Strategic Investors Can Be White Knights

Despite the current financing crisis, strategic investors are still doing deals. Eli Lilly and Amylin recently entered into a licensing agreement for the rights to Altea Therapeutics' exenatide transdermal patch technology. The deal includes an upfront licensing payment, regulatory and sales milestones of up to $46 million, and royalties. Lilly and Amylin also made an equity investment in Altea. My friends in business development at biopharma and medical device companies have said that they are still looking to do deals, but they also know that valuations are lower and it's a buyers market. No point in rushing into a deal when they know that a startup doesn't have too many alternatives to financing.