Ironwood said it believes VectivBio’s once-weekly GLP-2 analog apraglutide is differentiated from Takeda’s once-daily Gattex in short bowel syndrome and could generate $1bn in peak sales.

Deal Snapshot: Using antibodies against an undisclosed target discovered and engineered by Innate, Takeda plans to investigate the potential of antibody-drug conjugates in celiac disease

Private Company Edition: Alexis Borisy and his Curie.Bio co-founders will invest $5m-$7m to help companies get to lead optimization within 12-18 months. Also, Feng Zhang-founded Aera launched with $193m, Hexagon Bio raised a $77.3m series B round and Halda emerged with $76m.

During Q4, biopharma merger and acquisition value reached $35.7bn and drew in $62.1bn in potential deal value from alliances. Device company M&A values reached $19.2bn, while in vitro diagnostic firms and research tools players completed M&A activity that totaled $4.8bn.