Sun has promised to implement certain changes to address corporate governance concerns that have riled investors, including “unwinding” a loan transaction and doing away with a controversial related party arrangement for domestic sales. But will that be enough for markets to "forget" allegations of lapses or "re-rate" the firm any time soon?

The number of foreign investors participating in Catalan biotech companies has gone from 0 to 50, and over the past five years alone, the figure has increased tenfold, according to the latest Biocat report.

Finance Watch has noted $1.1bn worth of venture capital deals so far in 2019. Meanwhile, public offerings continue to be muted by the US government shutdown, though Revance and others sold shares. Also, Five Prime and others reveal layoffs and strategic shifts.

By selling seven approved oncology/hematology products to a US affiliate of Aurobindo, Spectrum gets cash to increase focus on late-stage candidates Rolontis for neutropenia and poziotinib for solid tumors.

Lilly's $8bn acquisition of genetics-based cancer specialist Loxo Oncology didn't involve any other bidders and was finalized in just days over the holidays as Lilly sought to make a news splash at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference, according to an SEC filing.

England and Wales' cost-effectiveness agency has been urged to review its disclosure policy in a BMJ report which calls on NICE to probe the financial transparency of patient organizations that contribute to reimbursement assessments.

A worst-case Brexit scenario – a disorderly one – has become more likely, making an already white-knuckled life sciences industry step up its preparations.

How much therapies should cost and how they should be reimbursed are questions that are expected to dominate in 2019, according to industry experts and participants surveyed by Scrip on their expectations for the coming year. This is the focus for the final installment of our three-part Scrip Asks series.

Gastrointestinal infections are the number one reason for US physician visits and account for about half the $50bn in global antibiotic sales. Speaking during Biotech Showcase 2019, Alex Huang, CEO of Quellthera, described to Mike Ward how the company is developing a novel prodrug concept, which mimics plant hypersensitive responses to toxins, as a sustainable alternative to antibiotics and as an adjunctive therapy to standard of care antibiotics for treatment and prophylaxis for a range of GI infections.

After regulatory talks, revamped Redx gets green light to resume clinical study of RXC004 in patients with advanced solid tumors, while sister porcupine inhibitor RXC006 is set to enter IPF trials in 2020, the biotech's CEO tells Scrip.

Pipeline Watch is a weekly snapshot of selected late-stage clinical trial events announced by pharmaceutical and biotech companies at medical and industry conferences, in financial and company presentations, and in company releases and statements.