Morrison & Foerster releases BioMeter index for Q3

Law firm Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) has released its latest BioMeter index, a quarterly deal report which measures the health of the biotechnology industry by tracking up-front licensing payments for pharma and biotech assets.

The report found that life sciences companies enjoyed a healthy surge in licensing deals during Q3 2013. There was a 37% jump in the average value of deals announced, paced by strong Phase 1 and Phase 2 transactions during the period, and the second straight quarter of robust early-stage valuations. However, BioMeter reports there were no Phase 3 deals at all.

Phase 1 transactions increased 37% to $54 million, while Phase 2 gained 77% to $67.3 million. Both were helped by several Q3 deals, including:

• The Phase 1 Morphosys-Cellgene transaction, which included a $92 million up-front payment;
• Phase 2’s $175 million up-front payment from Abbvie to Ablynx for the experimental drug ALX-061 to treat rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

Values for preclinical and discovery-stage transactions increased dramatically by 112% to $22.3 million across 12 transactions, making this category the busiest of the quarter. Highlights include Biogen’s $100 million up-front payment to Isis and the $45 million paid by Abbvie to Galapagos.

Overall, BioMeter reports increased values in Q3 for key stages of life sciences companies compared to the same quarter in 2012, including preclinical, discovery, Phase 1 and Phase 2. Full description of the valuations can be found in the report.