Infinity's "Big Brother" deal with the privately held affiliates Purdue and Mundipharma comes closest of any recent deal to replicating the structure of the Genentech/Roche relationship -- swapping the majority of a biotech's pipeline to a well-heeled partner in return for independence from the capital markets and enough commercial upside to deliver a long-term return for investors. But the idiosyncrasies of the Purdue/Mundipharma ownership and structure, and the recent stormy history that opened minds to the possibility of such a deal, show why further iterations of the model will remain a rarity.

As Wall Street fails to significantly reward companies with strong clinical news, the fall-out also affects the project financiers, like Symphony Capital -- an increasingly important alternative to traditional equity or alliance financing. On one hand, the hard times make Symphony's expensive-looking capital increasingly attractive to biotechs, including companies that once would have had plenty of other financing alternatives. On the other, Symphony's model is shifting more toward equity investing. It's still financing projects, but it's padding its upside with a lot more cheap stock.

As Wall Street fails to significantly reward companies with strong clinical news, the fall-out also affects the project financiers, like Symphony Capital -- an increasingly important alternative to traditional equity or alliance financing. On one hand, the hard times make Symphony's expensive-looking capital increasingly attractive to biotechs, including companies that once would have had plenty of other financing alternatives. On the other, Symphony's model is shifting more toward equity investing. It's still financing projects, but it's padding its upside with a lot more cheap stock.