Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has exited diabetes, selling its stake in the business to its former diabetes partner AstraZeneca for up to $4.3 billion. The transaction, announced in December, followed BMS's November discontinuation of diabetes discovery research, part of its plan to refocus on specialty care products. “The deal was win-win for both parties,” says Andrew Baum, global head of healthcare research at Citigroup in London. BMS probably made the strategic shift because “they realized they've got the key to the magic kingdom, a treasure trove of immuno-oncology assets,” he adds. It can now focus on developing high-cost, low-volume and easy-to-market immuno-oncology products, whereas AstraZeneca can commit itself more fully to its diabetes franchise. BMS spokesman Frederick Egenolf says that the deal also freed up resources to invest in the company's re-prioritized interests. New York–based BMS and London-based AstraZeneca have been partnering on diabetes projects since 2007, but their collaboration has experienced its share of setbacks. In 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration rejected their sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor Forxiga (dapagliflozin). The recently approved drug must now play catch up in the US to Johnson & Johnson's first-in-class SGLT2 inhibitor Invokana (canagliflozin) approved by US regulators in March 2013 (Nat. Biotechnol. 31, 469–470, 2013). Peak sales expectations for Onglyza (saxagliptin) also took a hit last year when the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor did not improve cardiovascular outcomes in a large post-marketing study. Their approved GLP-1 agonists Byetta and Bydureon (exenatide)—acquired by BMS in 2012 through the $7-billion acquisition of Amylin Therapeutics—have also failed to hit sales expectations.