Isis Pharmaceuticals of Carlsbad, California, ended 2012 with two noteworthy deals, one with Cambridge, Massachusetts–based Biogen Idec and another with London, UK–based AstraZeneca around five cancer targets. Under the Biogen Idec deal, Isis receives an upfront payment of $30 million, and up to $200 million in license fees, plus milestone payments per program, to develop and commercialize Isis' antisense drugs against three undisclosed neurologic targets. These new programs expand a previously established collaboration to develop antisense drugs for spinal muscular atrophy and myotonic dystrophy type 1. The AstraZeneca deal nets Isis $31 million in the near term plus potential milestone payments. That deal includes an Isis compound targeting STAT3. In October, a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel meeting for the company's antisense drug, Kynamro (mipomersen), turned into a “proxy [discussion] on antisense technology,” says Stephen D. Willey, an analyst at St. Louis–based Stifel Nicolaus. The recent deals indicate that “Clearly, potential partners know that Isis has been refining and improving that technology,” he adds. Isis CEO Stanley Crook concurs. “Our second-generation antisense drugs have much higher affinity, increased potency and are more stable,” he says. The company has 28 drugs in development. “Investors are particularly interested in the spinal muscular atrophy program now,” says Willey. The FDA's decision on Kynamro was due January 29.