Licensing Executives Society Names 2026 Deals of Distinction™ Winners

Nike and SKIMS, IBM and Circle, NIH and Cyprium Therapeutics, and more recognized for outstanding licensing deals

SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES, November 13, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Licensing Executives Society (LES) presented its 2026 Deals of Distinction™ Awards on October 19, 2026, at the LES Annual Meeting Business Luncheon in San Diego. Now in its twenty-second year, the program honors the companies and institutions behind the year's most outstanding licensing and business deals in five industry sectors.

The 2026 winners are:

• Brands as a Business – Nike and SKIMS. The two companies launched NikeSKIMS, a long-term, jointly built brand. It is Nike's first new brand developed with an outside partner, and it offers a third model beyond the traditional license or limited-edition collaboration.

• High-Tech – IBM and Circle. Circle acquired IBM's blockchain patent portfolio of more than 680 patent families and nearly 1,000 issued patents. The deal made Circle the largest holder of blockchain patents in the United States, and it closed in about 10 days.

• Industry-University-Government Interface – National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Cyprium Therapeutics. A license and research collaboration between the two organizations led to FDA approval of ZYCUBO^®, the world's first treatment for Menkes disease, a rare and degenerative pediatric disorder.

• Life Sciences – AstraZeneca and CSPC Pharmaceutical Group. The companies formed a strategic collaboration on eight next-generation programs for obesity and type 2 diabetes. It includes an upfront payment of about $1.2 billion and a total potential value of $18.5 billion.

• Physical Sciences – Los Alamos National Laboratory and Advent Technologies. The partners commercialized the Lab's Ion Pair membrane electrode assembly (MEA) technology. It improves hydrogen fuel cell energy production by 60%, lowers manufacturing costs and widens the operating temperature range.

The winners reflected on their deals:

"NikeSKIMS brings together two brands with a shared belief in the power of sport and a bold vision for serving athletes," Nike said in a statement accepting the Brands as a Business award.

"It's a team effort on both sides, so thank you to both teams, and it's exciting to get deals like this done," said Tom Mavrakakis of IBM, who accepted the High-Tech award with Jeff Tang of Circle.

"Children with this devastating degenerative disease now have an FDA-approved option and the potential to live longer," said Steven M. Ferguson, CLP, of the NIH, who accepted the Industry-University-Government Interface award with Tara L. Kirby, Ph.D.

"We have built a strong relationship with CSPC, and neither company could solve this problem as rapidly as we would have wanted," said Ratan Bhat, Global Head of Business Development for BioPharma at AstraZeneca, who accepted the Life Sciences award.

"The award reflects years of close collaboration between researchers and technology transfer professionals, aligning licensing strategy with partner capabilities and national priorities," said Marc Witkowski, Commercialization Manager at Los Alamos National Laboratory, who accepted the Physical Sciences award.

The Deals of Distinction Award recognizes agreements that solve business problems creatively, feature novel licensing structures and represent "seismic events" within their industry sector. The winning dealmakers accepted their awards in San Diego and spoke about how their deals came together.

About the Licensing Executives Society (USA and Canada), Inc. (LES)
LES is a leading association for intellectual property, technology, and business development professionals. The group brings IP and licensing groups together to network, collaborate and discuss some of the most critical issues facing the industry. The LES community drives strategy, transactions, and deals involving intellectual property, business and law, to fuel the evolving innovation economy.

For more information, visit: https://www.lesusacanada.org/

Katie McGowan
LES USA & Canada
communications@les.org
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