In return for US$15 M upfront and the potential for more than US$300 M in milestone payments, Aveo Pharmaceuticals has granted Novartis worldwide rights to AV-380, its preclinical-stage drug candidatefor-cachexia. The deal is welcome news for cash-strapped Aveo, which has suffered a string of clinical develop-ment failures in recent yearsand which was forced to cut its headcount by two-thirds in January 2015.