Consolidation and acquisitions among contract manufacturers of cell and gene therapies is a growing trend, as Catalent acquires Belgium- and US-based MaSTherCell Global for $315m, and other cell and gene therapy manufacturers address capacity shortages.

Although there was no major acquisition starting out the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, the deal-making flow has been steady. Pfizer licensed a neurodegenerative disease candidate to Biogen, while also selling Axsome rights to reboxetine in narcolepsy and fibromyalgia. Biogen signed a neurology R&D collaboration with CAMP4 as well.

Having signed a multi-year, multi-target agreement with Lilly worth potentially $550m, Atomwise CEO Abe Heifets tells Scrip the burden of proof is on AI practitioners to start producing relevant and actionable data.

Merck & Co is moving into analgesia with a deal signed with Kings College London for an early program that has the potential to create a novel class of pain medications with reduced side effects.