This genomics-based company has used business development as a strategic tool, swapping for key capacities that have helped it quickly leap forward. As the company demonstrated the merits of its model-organism platform, it began asking partners not for the most money they would give--but for assets that would help it forward integrate. One deal that started small expanded into a life-changing technology swap: from BMS, Exelixis got combinatorial chemistry capacity that it can now use to make compounds against its own targets. It also got a Phase II drug candidate for cancer, and rights to half of the molecules it makes for BMS, and Exelixis has used its new chemistry capacity to sign other barter-driven deals. Rapid evolution has risks: unless Exelixis accesses other fairly mature drug candidates, there will be a gap between launch of its first product and other compounds that haven't been tried yet in humans.
Money isn't everything. This old adage has been a driving force
behind dealmaking at Exelixis Inc.
—a company that began life as a pure platform player but is
managing quickly, though not yet completely—to transform
itself into a fully integrated organization. The key growth
promoter at Exelixis has been the understanding that in dealmaking,
cash is sometimes less valuable than other assets.
A glance at the company's evolutionary path—in particular a cluster of deals signed a year ago—demonstrates the power of barter....
Read the full article – start your free trial today!
Join thousands of industry professionals who rely on In Vivo for daily insights
Annual survey of patients and professionals shows how attitudes to health system transformation are evolving and what stakeholders are demanding as acceptance of AI tools accelerates.
BioWales in London 2025 showcased the efforts healthtech innovators are making to meet investors on their own turf, illustrating changing attitudes and evolving needs.
Metsera CEO Whit Bernard applies an unconventional leadership philosophy to develop next-generation obesity therapeutics, including monthly GLP-1 injections and oral peptides.
