TetraLogic uses cash from its recent IPO to bring form to its oncology pipeline via the acquisition of Shape Pharmaceuticals. Also, GlaxoSmithKline becomes the latest big pharma to partner with MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Moon Shots program and Mersana will collaborate with Takeda on antibody-drug conjugates for cancer.

Britain’s Cancer Research Technology says the dire financing situation facing European biotechs has forced it to become a bridge builder between research-based Big Pharma and academia, an intermediary role that it expects to expand on as the search for new oncology drugs intensifies.

While the value of Cephalon's pipeline is "modest," the specialty pharma will provide Teva with an expanded portfolio of marketed branded drugs, commercial infrastructure and cost synergies, making integration execution critical.