Public Company Edition: Four health care special purpose acquisition vehicles went public and two others announced mergers, but only one biopharma firm priced an IPO during the week of 19-23 October. Replimune’s $250m offering led recent FOPOs.

Nuvation started in 2018 and raised a $275m series A round in 2019. Now it is merging with the EcoR1 Capital-sponsored SPAC Panacea Acquisition Corp. and raising $500m in equity capital.

Public Company Edition: Codiak, Kiromic, Aligos and Opthea have fallen below their initial public offering values, while Tarsus and Praxis are trading higher. Also, 5AM, MPM and Cormorant took biotech SPACs public and Evotec led recent non-IPO financings with a €250m private placement.

Private Company Edition: Venture capital invested in pharma and biotech in 2020 totaled $19.5m through Q3, just $400m below the full-year record total of $19.9bn in 2018. Also, Canaan and Catalio reveal new VC funds, while Talaris’s $115m series B leads recent financings.

Biopharma executives discussed their strategies for treating chronic diseases during the Cell and Gene Meeting on the Mesa, including R&D and regulatory considerations.

Bristol Myers Squibb reported detailed results from the Phase III TRUE NORTH study that show durable remissions in a patient population that switches therapies due to loss of response.