Prothena views potential approval of Biogen’s aducanumab as a flag in the sand for next-generation amyloid-targeting therapies to race past, including the firm’s own antibody and vaccine programs. 

"We're not resting on our laurels," pRED head William Pao said in an early R&D overview. The company's R&D leaders highlighted drugs in oncology, neuroscience and ophthalmology.

Anthos premiers with $250m from Blackstone and cardiovascular disease assets and expertise from Novartis, while Maze brings in $191m for drugs that target gene modifiers. In public company financings, Sage raises $575m ahead of Zulresso approval decision.

AbbVie and existing partner Voyager Therapeutics are attempting to cross the blood-brain barrier with a new collaboration on vectorized antibodies to treat Parkinson’s disease and other synucleinopathies such as Lewy body dementia and multiple system atrophy.