Merck has taken two important steps towards its goal of achieving eight new cardiovascular drug approvals by 2030, presenting promising data for two potential blockbusters at the ACC meeting.

Plus deals involving Sun's SPARC/Visiox, Twist/Sosei, BeiGene, Leads Biolabs, Qilu/Arbutus, Hansoh/Keros, Simcere/Avilex and Cytokinetics/Ji Xing.

Janssen Biotech adds to its bispecific antibody pipeline for cancer via pair of collaborations. Ipsen and Accent pair up to investigate new target for acute myeloid leukemia.

Public Company Edition: Three companies postponed or withdrew their offerings, but drug developers continue to pursue IPOs. Also, Biocon, BMS and Epizyme raised money through new debt, Five Prime capitalized on positive data and Synthetic Biologic engaged a strategic advisor.