At the midpoint of the year, the global biopharma industry has recorded 554 partnering deals – a total that suggests that companies are still maintaining a high priority on business development through collaborations to help them execute on their business plans. The volume of partnering deals recorded by BioWorld in the second quarter, at 281, was about the same as those completed in the first quarter. However, year to date, the total number of transactions are about 10 percent down from the total recorded at this time last year. (See Volume of biopharma deals, right.)