Celgene Teams Up With Agios In Long-Term Cancer Metabolism Pact

The April 15 deal between Agios Pharmaceuticals Inc., a start-up barely two years old working in a novel area of cancer research, and Celgene Corp. is noteworthy for a number of reasons, among them its sheer size: the $130 million up-front payment associated with the deal is the largest year-to-date for a pharmaceutical alliance for which metrics have been disclosed, and is particularly hefty for a start-up that has yet to put a molecule in the clinic.