Lilly partners with Kumquat to discover small molecule IO drug. Kite, Appia Bio collaborate on allogeneic cell therapies. AstraZeneca and Regeneron pursue novel metabolic therapies targeting GPR75. Lexeo and Stelios merge to focus on gene therapies for rare cardiovascular indications.

More than half of the complete response letters issued for applications holding breakthrough status have been issued since 2020, reflecting difficult – and often rancorous – efficacy debates.

The subdued number of acquisitions of biotech by big pharma has more than one cause. The structural improvement of the process of drug discovery and development at big pharma is the main one.

Private Company Edition: Nine new venture capital mega-rounds include Insilico’s series C, $250m from Blackstone for a CAR-T therapy spinout from Intellia and a $210m series B round for Umoja.