A quick-acting, inhaled antipsychotic, Adasuve has been approved in the U.S. and EU, where it will be commercialized by Spain’s Grupo Ferrer. Teva takes over after previous U.S. partner Biovail stepped away upon being bought out by Valeant.

Elevation Pharmaceuticals, a San Diego, California-based company focused on respiratory therapies, has closed a $30 million series B fundraising round led by new investor Novo Ventures. The funding is expected to help the three-year-old start-up advance its nebulised long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA), EP-101, for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and complete Phase II testing.

Biosimilars took center stage during the last two weeks of 2011, as Amgen and Watson and then Baxter and Momenta followed up on the collaboration between Biogen Idec and Samsung BioLogics earlier in the month.

New company creation slipped significantly in 2009 as venture capitalists conserved capital and supported existing portfolio companies. In biopharmaceuticals, corporate venture got in at the ground floor while device start-ups continued to see stronger support from smaller, regional investors than traditional VCs.