Vertex and CRISPR look beyond beta thalassemia and sickle cell disease. Also, Bicycle gets $50m up front in Novartis deal, Regeneron commits $75m initially under a Treg collaboration with Sonoma, and Jounce gets a better deal from Concentra to wave off Redx merger.

As the usual flurry of deals coincides with the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, AbbVie signed an mRNA pact with Anima and a cancer research tie-up with Immunome.

The US biotech has nabbed a deal with Regeneron to develop bispecific cancer therapies by combining their respective technology platforms, getting $30m upfront in a positive twist of fate following a recent clinical trial challenge.

MAXVAX Biotechnology and Beijing Luzhu Biotechnology raise new funds to progress their recombinant herpes zoster vaccine candidates with novel adjuvants, while multiple other ventures in China complete new financings across multiple therapeutic areas and modalities.