The lower benefit in the olmesartan arm of KARDIA-2 could draw scrutiny, but the company said it was expected and noted polypharmacy is common in hypertension.

The Boston, MA biotech is about to enter the clinic with its autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease candidate but microRNA therapy pioneer Regulus is already setting the pace.

Public Company Edition: Galderma proposed pricing for its $2.6bn Swiss public market debut. Also, Apogee and Akero lead follow-on offerings with $483m and $366.9m, respectively, and Lexicon’s private placement brings in $250m, while Spruce reveals a 21% workforce reduction.

Positive topline results from the KARDIA-2 study in hypertension mean there are now two Phase II trials down with one more to go before a planned pivotal cardiovascular outcomes trial.