Immunogen Inc. and Eli Lilly and Co., having already seen a collaboration collapse in 2018, will try it again. Immunogen granted the exclusive rights to research, develop and commercialize antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) that are directed toward targets Lilly will select. Waltham, Mass.-based Immunogen will receive $13 million up front from Lilly and is eligible to receive another $32.5 million in exercise fees if Lilly licenses all the targets. Down the road, Immunogen could receive as much as $1.7 billion in exercise fees and milestones payments.

Quris Technologies Ltd. has inked an agreement with Merck KGaA to assess its BioAI safety prediction platform. The partnership will compare the Quris’ artificial intelligence (AI)-based platform with traditional in vivo and in vitro approaches of evaluating drug safety concerns.

Blue Note Therapeutics Inc. took a new approach to expanding its pipeline of prescription digital therapeutics (PDT) with an exclusive licensing agreement with the University of Sydney for Conquerfear, a metacognitive intervention that helps cancer survivors cope with the fear of disease recurrence. Blue Note has developed its PDTs internally to date but hopes to convert Conquerfear’s elements, which are typically delivered face-to-face, into a PDT for the U.S. and Canada. As a digital therapy, the program could potentially reach many more patients.

Collegium Pharmaceutical Inc. said it plans to acquire all outstanding shares of Biodelivery Sciences International Inc. for $5.60 each, putting the price tag at about $604 million. At the heart of the deal are Biodelivery Sciences' Belbuca (buprenorphine buccal film), a schedule III opioid, and Elyxyb (celecoxib), an oral migraine treatment that gives Collegium a foothold into the neurology market.

Mica Biosystems Ltd. is linking up with U.K. innovation center Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT Catapult) to accelerate commercialization of its regenerative technology platform. CGT Catapult is supporting the Birmingham, U.K.-based startup as it engages in conversations with the U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency for clinical trials testing its remote-controlled stem cell therapy platform.

An increasing number and rising value of high-money biopharma deals has placed early 2022 above all recent years, even though there are fewer partnerships overall.

Infectious disease specialist Aicuris Anti-infective Cures AG has signed a worldwide license agreement worth up to €100 million (US$114 million) with Hybridize Therapeutics for a potential therapy to prevent BK virus (BKV) infections in immunocompromised patients.

Bioventrix Inc. acquired Materacor Inc., the developer of a heart failure therapy that uses an injectable alginate-based hydrogel and a minimally invasive endocardial delivery system to restructure the left ventricle and reverse or stop the progression of ischemic or non-ischemic congestive heart failure with reduced ejection faction (HFrEF). The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Second Sight Medical Products Inc. has struck a deal to acquire Nano Precision Medical Inc. (NPM) in an all-stock transaction. NPM will merge with a wholly owned subsidiary of Second Sight, and the combined company will focus on the development of drug and device medical implants. The deal comes less than a year after Second Sight’s proposed acquisition of French company Pixium Vision LLC fell through in controversial fashion. The company will issue approximately 134 million shares of its common stock to acquire full ownership of NPM and shareholders will acquire approximately 23% equity of the combined company