Augmenting its immuno-oncology pipeline, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has announced a global development and commercialisation collaboration with Nektar Therapeutics that is potentially worth up to US$3.63 B. Thanks to its US$1 B upfront payment, the alliance ranks as the largest biotech partnering deal in terms of upfront cash. The two companies will evaluate the potential of NKTR-214 in combination with Opdivo® (nivolumab) and Opdivo plus Yervoy® (ipilimumab) across nine tumour types, including renal cell carcinoma, non-small-cell lung cancer, bladder and triple-negative breast cancer.