Laurus Labs has reported a 70% jump in annual revenues after what the company described as an “extraordinary year.” The firm has decided to expand its current capacities to meet the increased demand for third-party API sales and is looking to file eight to ten ANDAs next year as it sees “many long-term opportunities in the US generics space.”

Argenx partners with Elektrofi and Iontas; China’s Qilu obtains global rights to Peptron’s antibody-drug conjugate and also ends co-development pact with Quantum Genomics.

Zentalis outlines promising antitumor activity associated with its WEE1 inhibitor, Phase II trials are planned for Pieris Pharmaceuticals’ fusion protein in HER2-positive cancers, while HPV-positive cancers are being targeted by Hookipa’s immunotherapeutics in arenavirus vectors, and Eli Lilly is planning early-stage clinical trials with its next-generation KRAS inhibitor.

Biopharma was an attractive investment in 2020 and fundamentals are unchanged in 2021, including the pandemic’s work-at-home requirements, which allowed more companies to go public faster.