VC funding slowed recently, but public company financings kept up a brisk pace with follow-on public offerings for Allakos and Alpine, private placements for Ventyx and Syros, and Albireo’s royalty deal. In restructuring updates, Biogen raised $592m in a real estate deal and Acerus is assessing options.

Deal Snapshot: Set to begin a Phase II study that Alpine will complete, ALPN-101 is a dual inhibitor of CD28 and ICOS that may offer a new treatment option in SLE.

Public Company Edition: The usual mid-January surge in public offerings hasn't happened this year, since the SEC can't process new filings, but Alnylam, Acceleron and others apparently were prepared for a lengthy shutdown. Also, ARM reports cell and gene therapy financing data.

A review of biopharma start-up dealmaking and financing activity from April through June 2017, based on data from Strategic Transactions, showed that fundraising activity more than doubled compared with the first quarter.