Zogenix's Fintepla for Dravet syndrome got off to a slow start commercially and investors are hoping that the sales will improve considerably with UCB flexing its marketing muscles in the epilepsy space and growing the product as additional indications are secured.

Public Company Edition: While panelists at Biotech Showcase argued merging with a special purpose acquisition corporation is not as attractive as it used to be, firms continue to pursue this go-public alternative. Also, Hillstream launched a small IPO and Cytokinetics accessed cash from Royalty Pharma. 

The company laid out plans at J.P. Morgan to reach revenues of $5bn by 2025, focusing on already marketed products and its pipeline plans.

The next chapter of Cipla’s innovation journey goes beyond its core respiratory thrust to include new platforms spanning areas such as peptides, where it has seen its first major approval in the US and has multiple programs lined up. Devices and diagnostics are among the other avenues being explored as the Indian company seeks to bring more patients into the “funnel”.

In a vote of confidence, investors predict Shanghai IPOs to rise in 2022, while sluggish share performances in Hong Kong have made a public listing there more “a liquidity rather than an exit event.”

Licensing deals and partnerships carried the day during another hectic J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. Pfizer racked up its third deal of the week in a cancer collaboration with Dren Bio.

The arrival on the US eczema market of a couple of oral JAK inhibitors with stellar data on itching could provide a challenge to Sanofi and Regeneron's blockbuster Dupixent. However, Pfizer and AbbVie will have to overcome dermatologists' fears about the class-effect safety warnings their drugs come with.

Scrip's Kevin Grogan joins Datamonitor's Pamela Spicer and Davinderpreet Mangat to discuss the skin disease landscape and whether atopic dermatitis is now where psoriasis was a decade ago as another wave of innovative products start to reach the market.

The draft national coverage determination, released shortly before Lilly CEO David Ricks spoke at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, said Medicare will cover anti-amyloid antibodies only for patients in clinical trials, severely limiting commercial potential for Biogen’s Aduhelm and near-term competitors.

The UK biotech has struck up an unusual deal with its new investor that lets it retain control over its assets, as it raises $54m in a series A.

As Barron departs for new rejuvenation-focused biotech Altos Labs, GSK will be under pressure to ensure its R&D can continue to produce green shoots.

Gene therapies for conditions ranging from hemophilia to retinal diseases are blossoming in China and the race in which the winner may take all is on. Driven by ready investors, the field is on the cusp of becoming the latest innovation battleground in the country, while some developers are already moving ahead in the US.