Flagship Pioneering raised $1.1bn to fund life science companies emerging from Flagship Labs. ARCH, another frequent start-up co-founder, raised two funds totaling $1.46bn to back early-stage biotech.

Public Company Edition: Grossing $276m, Gossamer would have been the third-largest biopharma IPO in the US if it had launched last year. Also, recent public company financings include debt and follow-on offerings; and two more firms cut jobs – Capricor and Seres.

Gossamer took an infrequently used path to go public during a US government shutdown that's kept the SEC from processing new offerings. Also, IPO filings (and withdrawals) and follow-on offerings continued during the shutdown, while VC deals keep up a brisk pace.

Nearly two-thirds of the 67 drug developers that launched an IPO in 2018 were trading below their offering price at the end of the year, bringing the average return to -7.5%. Even so, biopharma companies continue to line up for a US stock market debut.