SAN FRANCISCO – Deal of the Year winners were announced in the partnering and M&A categories at the Thomson Reuters Allicense 2014 meeting here on Tuesday evening. From a short list of five deals industry selected the partnership involving Biogen Idec Inc. and Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. whose goal is to apply antisense technology to the discovery and development of therapies for neurological diseases. The financial terms of the transaction provided $100 million up front to Isis, $220 million in potential milestones for each antisense candidate and additional funding for clinical trials conducted by Isis under the collaboration. (See BioWorld Today, Sept. 10, 2013.)

The six-year research agreement, which gives both partners flexibility to move discoveries forward, is designed to leverage Biogen's expertise in neurology with Isis' expertise in antisense technology.

By creating a joint working team to select and validate disease targets and conduct drug discovery activities, Biogen and Isis are aiming to validate at least a dozen targets over the term of the agreement. Isis will be responsible primarily for drug discovery and early development of antisense therapies, while Biogen will be responsible for the creation and development of small-molecule treatments and biologics.

In the M&A category, which was being awarded for the first time, Astrazeneca plc's (Medimmune) buyout of Amplimmune Inc. for $225 million took the honors as M&A deal of the year.

The transaction in the "hot" immunotherapy space could boost Astrazeneca into a leadership role in combination immunotherapy if Amplimmune's early stage candidates pan out. (See BioWorld Today, Aug. 28, 2013.)

Founded in 2007, Amplimmune has developed three biologic product candidates: AMP-224 in Phase Ib trials in cancer (partnered with Glaxosmithkline plc), AMP-110 for autoimmune diseases (partnered with Daiichi Sankyo Inc., of Parsippany, N.J., part of Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. ) and AMP-514 for cancer.

The annual awards honor the creative partnering efforts of business development licensing and M&A professionals. It represents the culmination of Thomson Reuters senior deals analysts examining hundreds of biopharma licensing and M&A deals to identify the top five contenders for deal of the year followed by a period where industry professionals can record their selections from the candidate list.