The UK-headquartered life sciences investment firm has comfortably exceeded its target of $350m for a fund dedicated to taking on late-stage products, incurring all the clinical and regulatory risk and receiving a pre-negotiated return once the drug is approved.

After record venture capital activity around South Korean biotechs last year, the strong investment interest has persisted so far this year, with an increased number of companies receiving large-scale funding as the promising sector emerges amid the pandemic.

A COVID-19 second wave is wreaking havoc in India but pharma appears to be holding things together for now, stretching resources amid a dip in personnel attendance and supply chain strains. Limited vaccine supplies, a spurt in API prices and an inevitable third wave could mean further turbulence ahead.

Given mixed Phase III results for the Alzheimer’s drug and potentially severe side effects for the once-monthly infused therapy, ICER’s recommendation came in below analyst expectations.

Private Company Edition: Dyno’s first VC round will enable more deals for its novel AAV platform; Eikon pioneers new drug discovery technology. Also, Treeline’s early funding revealed at $211.7m; Capsida raised $140m from a VC round, AbbVie deal; and Affinia closed a $110m series B round. 

Regeneron's COVID-19 antibody cocktail helped drive 38% growth for the company, while Global Blood Therapeutics' Oxbryta continues to face headwinds and Horizon focuses on relaunches.

The pharmaceutical industry in Europe has attacked the US decision to come out in support of a relaxation of IP rights that is designed to boost global production of COVID-19 vaccines. But the move by the Biden administration could well cause other countries to rethink their opposition to the move.

Drug manufacturers still have a variety of ways to limit the impact of the Biden administration’s historic decision. Whether the huge political loss for industry translates into more than just headline-risk or faster global COVID vaccination remains to be seen. It is also not clear whether it is an ominous sign for other industry battles in the US, including the drug pricing debate.

Data on medRxiv showed a 90% improvement in likelihood of need for mechanical ventilation in the intent-to-treat population. The company plans a filing in Q2.

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

As the US responds to calls to waive intellectual property rights related to COVID-19 vaccines, China is already moving ahead with some of its own mRNA candidates.

Novavax said it would start shipping supplies of its vaccine to Europe starting in late 2021, while Vaxart delayed the start of its Phase II study due to issues with Emergent BioSolutions. Meanwhile, Roche India received an EUA for Regeneron's antibody cocktail