The German pharma’s top business development execs explain how they balance IO and targeted cancer therapy in their portfolio, views on major M&A and how to make deals during a global pandemic.

AstraZeneca inks a deal with French firm Transgene to co-develop five armed oncolytic vaccinia virus candidates in an area that is hotting up for big pharma.

The head of the German family-owned firm's venture fund tells Scrip that investing very early in promising start-ups gives Boehringer Ingelheim "a little bit of a head start" on rival pharma companies in identifying technologies that could translate into therapies five years down the line .

Paying €210m for a company that only has preclinical programs may seem steep but BI is clearly impressed with the progress being made by its Austrian partner's lead candidate.