Vascular Biogenics Ltd (VBLT)

[gr8db8]

More from the same session:

"Michael Gilman, whose company Stromedix licensed a fibrosis drug from Biogen Idec and was later acquired by the biotech giant, shed light on how other companies viewed Stromedix’s drug. As Stromedix tried to partner the asset, the drug was seen as “damaged goods,” with suspicious potential partners wanting to know why the big biotech had out-licensed it in the first place. Gilman noted that big companies drop collaborations and outlicense development programs frequently these days, and that the stigma associated with these events is abating. Corinne Epperly, Global Mergers and Acquisitions Lead at BMS echoed his sentiments, explaining that a program that does not mesh strategically with one company’s portfolio could fit perfectly in another company’s pipeline.

The panelists agreed that in some cases, a small biotech’s big pharma partner does have a slight information advantage over other potential acquirers. However, Epperly noted that sometimes companies are able to act on this information, as in the case of BMS’ acquisition of partner Medarex (and melanoma cancer drug Yervoy) in 2009, and sometimes their incremental advantage over other companies does not matter, as in the case of Eli Lilly’s 2008 acquisition of BMS’ drug development partner ImClone, despite BMS’ own efforts to acquire the company."
http://www.biotech-now.org/business-and-investments/2013/02/putting-a-ring-on-it-advice-on-successful-drug-development-collaborations