On the heels of a potential $1 billion oncology collaboration, Incyte Corp.'s JAK program snagged another partner, licensing oral JAK/JAK2 inhibitor INCB28050 to Eli Lilly and Co. in a potential $755 million deal that gives the biotech some big pharma muscle in the crowded rheumatoid arthritis space. (BioWorld Today)

UK-listed Silence Therapeutics plc and privately held Intradigm Corp. agreed to a merger deal that could give the combined firm a competitive edge in the RNAi landscape currently dominated by firms such as Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Sirna Therapeutics Inc. (BioWorld Today)

Sangamo BioSciences Inc. reported promising early data from its Phase II trial of zinc finger protein therapeutic SB-509, showing that it improved muscle function in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients, though it remains to be seen whether those results will translate into a win for the company down the road. (BioWorld Today)

In what it's calling its "best and final offer," Biogen Idec Inc. upped its bid for daclizumab partner Facet Biotech Corp. to $17.50 per share, which values the Redwood City, Calif.-based firm at about $438 million. (BioWorld Today)