AstraZeneca and Ionis believe they have a potential best-in-class PCSK9 inhibitor, but the product will have to impress in forthcoming pivotal trials to catch up with Novartis’s Leqvio.

The $300m upfront payment should provide considerable runway for the base-editing company, which also plans multiple IND filings and enrolling the first patient in its sickle cell study this year.

Initial public offering momentum decelerated as stock prices declined last year, but even with lower valuations making M&A more attractive, the IPO market this year is expected to be active. 

Share prices for many gene-editing companies declined in 2021, but the field is burgeoning with novel approaches due to be highlighted at the J.P. Morgan meeting, and one player, Intellia, could move closer to a breakthrough in 2022.