Highlights from the Q3 2008 review of pharmaceutical and biotechnology dealmaking: Financing dollar volume was more than twice that of Q2 with 105 deals bringing in over $4.4 billion, but not one IPO to be found. M&A dollars also nearly doubled to $23 billion in the third quarter--versus the previous three months--and of the 26 transactions with known values, more than half were over $100 million. Alliances saw activity focused primarily in two areas: drug delivery and large molecules, each category with 16 deals apiece. Total potential deal value (for the 43 alliances with known values) reached $4.5 billion, over one and a half times that of the previous quarter.

Highlights from the Q3 2008 review of pharmaceutical and biotechnology dealmaking: Financing dollar volume was more than twice that of Q2 with 105 deals bringing in over $4.4 billion, but not one IPO to be found. M&A dollars also nearly doubled to $23 billion in the third quarter--versus the previous three months--and of the 26 transactions with known values, more than half were over $100 million. Alliances saw activity focused primarily in two areas: drug delivery and large molecules, each category with 16 deals apiece. Total potential deal value (for the 43 alliances with known values) reached $4.5 billion, over one and a half times that of the previous quarter.

Inflammation plays a part in a wide range of diseases across a broad spectrum of markets, including the huge and already crowded, like rheumatoid arthritis; the difficult to navigate, like Crohn's disease; and the emerging, like atherosclerosis. Start-ups looking to compete in inflammation can boost their chances of success by focusing on niche indications or on drug targets with broad applicability, and thus attract the attention of in-licensers or acquirers. In this issue, we profile four young companies hoping to prove the worth of their technologies to investors and partners alike.