Roche gets an option to acquire program addressing drug-resistant gram-negative infections when it reaches IND-filing status. Spero is working on a novel target found originally in infected tobacco plants.

Roche gets an option to acquire program addressing drug-resistant gram-negative infections when it reaches IND-filing status. Spero is working on a novel target found originally in infected tobacco plants.

Biopharma financing reached $4.6 billion in Q1 2013, exceeding Q4 2012’s $4.2 billion total, mostly through follow-on public offerings, which made up 47% of the total funding. Conversely, M&A was on the decline with 18 completed transactions together valued at $4.8 billion, the lowest quarter since 2009. The $5.5 billion potential deal value aggregate for alliances more than doubled from the previous quarter, mainly due to Biogen Idec’s $3.25 billion buy of Elan's share of multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri.

Start-up company fundraising got off to a slow start in 2013: life sciences companies brought in $398.7 million, roughly 59% less than in the final quarter of 2012. Of the total raised, 84% went to biopharmas. The majority of start-up alliances were for discovery- or preclinical-stage products and there were four start-up acquisitions for the quarter – three in biopharma and one in the medical device sector.