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It’s Official: The Merck-Daiichi Deal Has The Biggest Upfront Ever

 
• By Elizabeth Cairns and Edwin Elmhirst

But the partners will have to avoid the pitfalls that have bedevilled several other expensive licensing deals.    

Chest - money
• Source: Shutterstock: Brian Goodman

The enormous upfront cash payment made by Merck & Co., Inc. to Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. as part of its licensing deal last week led some industry watchers to speculate whether it was, at $4bn, the largest ever seen in biopharma. A new Scrip analysis, using data from Evaluate Pharma and Biomedtracker, can now confirm that it is – just.

Key Takeaways
  • The $4bn cash payment Merck made to Daiichi Sankyo is the largest ever licensing upfront fee

The upfront fee just pips that for the collaboration signed by Galapagos NV and Gilead Sciences, Inc. three...

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