Securitizations involving intangible assets have been all the rage the last few years. The credit crunch brought that movement to a halt--but only temporarily.

The latest: The bank has launched a $250 million deal on behalf of biotech company Vertex Pharmaceuticals, notes the Financial Times. The deal essentially securitizes future income streams from a drug still in development. Investors get paid of as revenue milestones are hit.

Morgan Stanley has been working on such deals since 2004, FT notes. This will be its 18th. "The team even managed five deals in 2008 but they were all completed before Lehman Brothers' collapse rocked the markets."  These deals are similar to the bond deals that musicians have struck, which call for coupon payments to be made from future royalty income. 

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