Public Company Edition: Denali, Crinetics and Ocular Therapeutix grossed $500m, $350m and $325m, respectively, in private placements ahead of data readouts. Also, Viking raised $550m after its positive Phase II obesity data and Abingworth invested $210m in Gilead’s Trodelvy NSCLC trials.

Lotilaner, the active ingredient in Tarsus’s Demodex blepharitis drug Xdemvy, showed significant ability to kill ticks in a small Phase IIa study. Analysts call the Lyme program a likely out-licensing opportunity for Tarsus.

Innovation metrics like first-in-class and breakthrough therapy approvals declined as a share of novel agents in 2023, even as the US FDA’s drugs center posted one of its biggest novel approval totals ever.

BMS, which acquired MyoKardia in 2020 months after LianBio acquired rights in certain Asia-Pacific territories, said the deal would help expand its footprint in China.