It has taken just seven weeks from a cold call to completion and the German major has got its hands on a prized asset in Vividion which was on the verge of listing on the NASDAQ. The companies told Scrip how the deal was done.

With the biotech sector awash with public and private capital, companies can carry on longer without needing to link up with a bigger player. Big pharma C-suite leaders have been discussing how their firms sweeten potential deals at BIO Digital.

Akebia brings in Cyclerion’s diabetes candidate praliciguat, plus deals involving Genmab/Bolt, Auris/Trasir, Zymergen/Lodo, Bavarian Nordic/Dynavax and more.

Pieris and Genentech try partnering again after a disappointing IO tie-up before. Biogen’s hectic May includes partnerships with Ginkgo, Envisagenics, Capsigen and an opt-in on TMS’s stroke candidate.