Roche Bucks the Trend, with Early-Stage Deals

Unlike many of its Big Pharma brethren, for Roche, preclinical and Phase I licensing has been a favored deal-making formula: collaborate with a small company on the development of a compound at or before clinical proof-of-concept, drive the program using its development expertise, and retain rights to follow-on products with which it can repeat the process, presumably having now lowered both compound and clinical risk. Its deal with Kosan is the latest example.