Two new projects have begun, one on standardizing the assessment of immune responses in individuals vaccinated in clinical trials, the other to improve understanding of potential immunity in patients who have been infected with SARS-CoV-2.

H.I.G. Capital, a global private equity firm with more than $8.5 billion under management, has closed its second life sciences-focused venture fund - H.I.G. BioVentures II – at $268 million, exceeding its $250 million target. Like its first life sciences fund, HIG BioVentures, the new fund will invest in North American companies across a broad range of sectors and development stages, with a focus on pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and diagnostics.

Nothing has arguably hurt pharmaceutical investors and dealmakers quite so often and with such force as novel pain drug development failures. As a result, a once hot field has gone cold. Despite setbacks, great strides have been made in understanding the complex biology of pain. Scientists have discovered numerous new pain pathway targets with the potential for designing effective agents with fewer off-target effects. Improvements that make preclinical studies more predictive of clinical success are also opening up new opportunities. At the same time, drug developers now understand better how to design drug trials that can segment patient populations to demonstrate therapeutic efficacy more precisely, potentially reducing placebo effects and paving the way for an era of personalized pain medicine.

Cambridge-based biotech Bicycle Therapeutics has appointed Andy Sandham as non-executive chairman. Mr Sandham held previous roles at Cantab Pharmaceuticals, Hexagen, Signature BioScience and Ionix Pharmaceutials, and continues to serve as chairman and CEO of Kymab and non-executive director of NeurAxon and PBL.