Private Company Edition: Third quarter venture capital funding for biopharmaceutical firms fell from Q2, but activity remains near all-time highs year-to-date. Several companies announced VC financings in early October, including Ascidian, which launched with $50m in series A financing.

Allergan was expected to announce soon that it would follow its shareholders' advice and split the company in two, but it's being acquired by AbbVie for $63bn instead, finally giving investors a big boost in their Allergan holdings after years of decline.

Days after surviving a shareholder vote to split up his roles, chairman/CEO Saunders says unhappy investors have been heard and change is coming. As for details, everything is on the table.

After disappointing top-line Phase II data in diabetic peripheral neuropathy with NYX-2925, Aptinyx says the full dataset shows significance across endpoints in patients four years or more past diagnosis; a second Phase II study in this subgroup is planned.