During Q3, biopharma merger and acquisition value reached $15.4bn and drew in $37.6bn in potential deal value from alliances. Device company M&A values reached $550m, while in vitro diagnostic firms and research tools players completed M&A activity that totaled $1.9bn.

Arcutis's CEO believes that with "a modest investment," the company can generate proof-of-concept data "against a de-risked target in a high-value indication,” Ducentis's preclinical atopic dermatits drug DS-234.

Lack of scale, the need for further funding and problems getting reimbursement for its adrenal insufficiency products left the Wales-headquartered firm vulnerable to a takeover and San Diego's Neurocrine has swooped.

Just over a month after raising $97m in a series B round, Oxford University spinout MiroBio and its immune checkpoint agonists have been snapped up by Gilead Sciences.