The remarkable expansion in our understanding of oncology and the processes by which cancer arises has provided the foundation on which to build a diverse range of therapeutic approaches that offer hope to future patients. One of these is TroVax#174;, a cancer vaccine that has been developed by Oxford BioMedica. In order to secure the future of the product, the company has signed potentially the largest ever deal for a cancer vaccine with the global pharmaceutical company sanofi-aventis. This article puts this deal into the context of the current oncology market and explores the strategy and rationale behind it.