New data puts Merck & Co's P2X3 receptor antagonist ahead of the field but Bellus Health's rival in the class may benefit from issues over taste alteration with gefapixant.

Suzhou-based immuno-oncology specialist CStone raised a $260m Series B round and Brii launched with $260m in Series A cash to develop drugs for the China market. Also, multiple start-ups launched recently with more than $50m in Series A rounds, including Ansun, Beam, Casma, Celsius and Neurana.

Private Company Edition: Life science firms in J&J's JLabs incubators have raised $9.4bn to date from deals and financings, including five IPOs. Also, October brings a wide range of new equity and VC financings.

Oncology was top of mind for Scrip on the final day of the BIO International Convention in San Diego, including a next-generation cancer drug panel discussion and interviews with novel therapeutic developers. A day earlier, we spoke with Merck & Co about deals related to Keytruda and beyond.