A new EY report contends that declining biotech valuations and the need for large pharma to add pipeline assets may create conditions for a buyer’s market – although year-to-date M&A activity has been lackluster.

In the top May alliance by deal value, Amphista Therapeutics and Bristol Myers Squibb aim to discover and develop targeted small-molecule protein degraders by leveraging Amphista's proprietary Eclipsys platform. BMS gets exclusive global rights to resulting products. Amphista will receive a $30M upfront payment, up to $1.25B in performance-based milestone payments, payment for a limited expansion of the collaboration, as well as royalties on global net sales.

Bristol Myers Squibb thinks Turning Point’s ROS1/TRK inhibitor shows a best-in-class profile and potential to compete more successfully against Pfizer’s Xalkori than Roche’s Rozlytrek has.

Another blow-out quarter from Pfizer provided the impetus for an acquisition. But the history of recent commercial-stage biotech transactions and the risky nature of all early-stage companies suggest that the floodgates will not burst open.