It was an important week for Celgene, which made two cancer deals while producing data that help validate its $2.9 billion buyout of Abraxane.

One of the key take-aways from a wide-ranging hour-long panel discussion on emerging markets at Elsevier Business Intelligence's 20th Pharmaceutical Strategic Alliances meeting was the notion that drugmakers cannot implement a one-size-fits-all strategy when building a presence in important new markets. Participating in the forum were Mervyn Turner, PhD, chief strategy officer of Merck , Jean-Michel Halfon, president and general manager of Pfizer's emerging markets business unit, and Robin Arnold, a consultant with IMS Health.

Highlights from the Q4 2009 review of pharmaceutical and biotechnology dealmaking: Financing dollar volume was high with 108 financing deals bringing in close to $5 billion, with a big increase in public financings: IPOS and FOPOs together made up over half of the quarter's total dollar volume. Conversely VC rounds were down--accounting for only 18% of the Q4 aggregate. M&A was strong in Q4 with 27 transactions bringing in close to $8 billion-almost half of these were acquisitions of private biotechs. Deals with big earn-outs were also predominantly featured this quarter (and throughout the year). Alliances in Q4 reached an aggregate potential deal value (pre-commercialization monies) of $5.9 billion, a 46% increase over the previous quarter. Several Big Pharmas did multiple transactions, most notably GlaxoSmithKline PLC, which penned nine of its 20 in-licensing deals in the fourth quarter alone. Q4 also boasted 16 deals with up-front payments exceeding $50 million.

Thanks to the return of the initial public offering and a strong market for follow-ons, money from public investors made a huge comeback during the third quarter of 2009. The merger and acquisition scorecard totaled $17.3 billion from 22 transactions--four of which topped the billion-dollar mark. And in alliances, most notable was Johnson & Johnson and Elan Corp. PLC's joint venture, which will acquire all of the assets and rights to Elan's Alzheimer's Immunotherapy Program.