Oversee returnee-founded Chinese biotech start-ups Nuwacell and Arnatar secure $14m in series A and seed rounds respectively, while four other major deals backed by private equity and venture capital firms raise a combined $116m.

While the Phase IIb SOLANO trial of ION449 met its primary endpoint, AstraZeneca had set a high bar of 70% LDL cholesterol reduction for competitiveness that the study did not hit.

PARP inhibitors have had great success in treating a number of cancers but the German major has placed a $65m bet that Nerviano's selective PARP1 approach could produce a safer and more efficacious option.

The company presented interim data for NTLA-2002 in hereditary angioedema, along with interim data for Regeneron-partnered NTLA-2001 in transthyretin amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy. The company plans a rapid expansion of its programs.