Seven years after a major shift in how the company compensated its sales force, the UK major has done a U-turn and is adapting pay packages for some specialty care reps.

An Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM) report shows big Q1 numbers for venture capital and partnership deals. Also, mid-May VC deals surge globally across therapeutic areas, Biogen pushes back against a bargain-hunting investor and recent public company financings.

ElevateBio revealed the first company to hitch up with its newly established centralized cell and gene therapy development, manufacturing and commercial capabilities – AlloVir, formerly ViraCyte, which is developing T-cell therapies to treat viruses in immunocompromised patients.

Amgen offered to buy its Scandinavian discovery partner for $166.8m to gain access to Nuevolution’s DNA-encoded drug discovery platform and nascent pipeline.

Pricing pressure in Japan is expected to weigh significantly on growth even in the generics segment, putting the focus on manufacturing and R&D efficiencies to sustain progress in this market, according to senior Lupin executives.

Investors in Peloton, which has the only clinical-stage HIF-2α inhibitor, will get back 3.5 times the $304m in venture capital invested in the firm via the $1.1bn that Merck is paying up front. With all $1.15bn in additional milestone fees, the return could grow to 7.2x.

The 20 major companies in the Access to Medicines Index have made progress in areas like inclusive business models, R&D prioritization and equitable pricing, but not enough is being done to develop new medicines for less profitable diseases or to support flexibilities such as compulsory licensing, says a new report from the Access to Medicine Foundation.

Basilea’s Cresemba appears on course to a debut in India and partner Pfizer expects the novel antifungal to bolster its existing portfolio in the segment. Pricing of the product will be keenly watched.

Findings being presented at ASCO next month could signify major increase in targets relevant to pediatric oncology, meaning sponsors should prepare for more US FDA-required studies under the RACE for Children legislation.

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.

Modra Pharmaceuticals’ three goals are to improve the toxicity, the efficacy and the formulation of taxane chemotherapies used to treat cancer. CEO Colin Freund spoke to Mike Ward.