Thomson Reuters Announces Winners of the Allicense 2014 Breakthrough Award for Top Pharma Deals of 2013

-- Amplimmune, Inc. and Medimmune are honored as the best deals in Mergers and Acquisitions and Isis Pharmaceuticals and Biogen Idec for Biopharmaceutical Licensing

PHILADELPHIA, May 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Intellectual Property & Science business of Thomson Reuters, the world's leading provider of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, honored Amplimmune, Inc. and Medimmune for their work in pharmaceutical Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), and Isis Pharmaceuticals and Biogen Idec for biopharmaceutical licensing with the Allicense 2014 Breakthrough Award for Deal of the Year.

The winners were announced Tuesday, April 29, after a public vote at 2014 Allicense, a prominent event connecting business development, licensing, and merger and acquisition (M&A) professionals throughout pharma, biotech and finance to discuss industry-wide challenges and collaborate on creating a roadmap for the future of pharmaceutical development. The annual award honors the top global deals in two categories: M&A and Biopharmaceutical Licensing. Five contenders in each category were nominated by Thomson Reuters deals analysts after a thorough analysis of information in Thomson Reuters Recap—the premier analysis tool for biopharmaceutical business deal making—and other criteria that examined hundreds of deals negotiated throughout 2013.

Amplimmune, Inc., the seller, and Medimmune, the buyer, were awarded the M&A Allicense 2014 Breakthrough Award for Deal of the Year for their $500 million deal around the immunological-based therapies AMP-224, AMP-110 and AMP-514.

"We're honored by this recognition and are proud of our professional collaboration. This is a prestigious nod to both Amplimmune and Medimmune because it highlights the greater, lasting impact on pharmaceutical development that will emerge from this global business relationship," said Gary Fanger, senior vice president and chief operating officer at Amplimmune. "Ultimately, that is what should be celebrated most."

"Medimmune is honored to receive the 2014 M&A Allicense Breakthrough Award for Deal of the Year," said Reginald Seeto, M.D., vice president and head of Partnering and Strategy, Medimmune. "The acquisition of Amplimmune highlights our deep commitment to finding and developing innovative and highly promising medicines to treat cancer patients. The deal further strengthens our position in the important field of immunotherapy for cancer, through the addition of valuable assets for our oncology pipeline as well as the talented people from Amplimmune who joined the Medimmune team."

Isis Pharmaceuticals, the seller, and Biogen Idec, the buyer, were awarded the biopharmaceutical licensing Allicense 2014 Breakthrough Award for Deal of the Year for their $100 million upfront deal around antisense technology therapies for neurological diseases.

"We are honored to receive this award in recognition of our innovative partnership with Biogen Idec," said B. Lynne Parshall, chief operating officer of Isis Pharmaceuticals. "This collaboration combined the unique strengths of each partner to develop novel therapies for neurological disorders with unmet medical needs. We look forward to continuing our work with Biogen Idec to achieve further success and to advance new treatments for neurological disorders into the clinic."

"It's a privilege to be a business development professional and an honor to have our efforts recognized by our peers," said Richard Brudnick, vice president and co-head of business development and M&A at Biogen Idec." We are grateful for the award and hope that the fruits of our collaboration with Isis will make a difference in the lives of patients as soon as possible. That is the type of ultimate reward for which we all work."

"We are pleased to honor Amplimmune, Medimmune, Isis Pharmaceutical and Biogen Idec with the Allicense 2014 Breakthrough Award for Deal of the Year for their innovative approaches to deal-making and partnering, and to celebrate all of our nominees whose work has been instrumental in driving the pharmaceutical industry forward," said Jon Brett-Harris, managing director, Thomson Reuters Life Sciences. "I am confident that the meaningful discussions at this event will help shape future leading deals and structures; I look forward to seeing where the industry is for Allicense 2015."

Learn more about Thomson Reuters Recap.

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