Bristol Myers partner comes through on IL-12 effort. Now it's Rupert Vessey's turn at bat

Two years ago, Bristol Myers Squibb R&D boss Rupert Vessey unveiled one of the biggest cash deals he’d done, focusing on the high-risk, high-reward IL-12 target — doing it in a deal with repeat collaborator and NK cell engager player Dragonfly Therapeutics.

As part of that deal, Vessey handed over $475 million in near-term cash in exchange for a global license for Dragonfly’s extended half-life cytokine DF6002 — a monovalent, IL-12 immunoglobulin Fc fusion protein designed to spur a targeted immune response.