A venture-backed Canadian biotechnology industry is in its infancy, but faced with hostile capital markets, start-ups need clear exit plans. Consolidation's already started.

Savvy venture capitalists, biotech firms, and pharmaceutical companies have long recognized universities as technology troves of untapped value. In the last year or so, universities have developed a heightened perception of their own value--and are increasingly willing to exploit it through creative dealmaking. A look at the previous six months of licenses and research agreements signed between universities and pharmaceutical companies.