Stronger Context: Two was not enough

The acquisition of anti-infectives in-licensor Peninsula Pharmaceuticals Inc. by Johnson & Johnson for $245 million in cash was the least surprising of the three purchases announced last week, but was another example of a company taking a route that was its second choice, and of products ending up in the hands of better-resourced companies.

This case also illustrates the vicissitudes of the in-licensing game, where compiling a critical mass of clinical products has proven easier said than done, and big sums of cash are required to reach the finish line. Even though Peninsula was able to obtain two clinical compounds, the company found itself cherry-picked by an acquirer whose need was to fill pipeline gaps rather than to accumulate a stable of candidates...