Reviving the model

Pharmion Corp. was one of the first of a new generation of NRDOs that were created to license products in later stages of development and thus avoid the risky and time-consuming discovery and early clinical steps. By the end of 2005, with sales plateauing and everyone bidding for the same late-stage programs, investors were beginning to wonder where the next growth spurt would come from. The company responded by licensing three cancer products in less than 12 months.

Before going public in 2003, PHRM raised $129 million in three venture rounds that it used to acquire four products that were near or past the regulatory application stage...