Genmab/GSK: An Impressive Display of Biotech's Increased Leverage

Cash-rich and product-poor pharmaceutical firms playing catch-up in large molecules have turned 2006 into a bumper year for dealmaking. Even so, Genmab AS's monster December deal with GSK for worldwide rights to the Phase III anti-CD20 antibody ofatumumab (HuMax-CD20), which includes a whopping $459 million in up-front cash and equity payments, seemed to catch analysts by surprise, beating even optimistic expectations