The company, which has struggled in the clinic following a deal where Pfizer bought its migraine portfolio, is licensing the dual inhibitor drug from a Chinese firm for up to $970m.

Private Company Edition: Westlake Village BioPartners-founded Neuron23 will take the LRRK2 inhibitor NEU-723 for Parkinson’s disease into human testing before the end of 2022. Also, Celsius raised $83m in fresh VC cash and ITM added another €33m to its recent €25m equity financing.

Private Company Watch: Neuron23, Neurogene and Locanabio each raised $100m or more, highlighting increased investor interest in novel approaches to neurological diseases. Also, CRO dMed raised $100m and MinervaX brought in $57m for its vaccine to protect newborns.