Industry leaders share their expectations around COVID-19 for the coming year. Further product development and vaccine rollout will be key themes in 2021. Equitable supply and addressing the mental health challenges associated with lockdowns also loom large.

Private Company Edition: The pre-J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference financing news deluge during the first week of 2021 included several significant venture capital deals, including a $226m series B round for Affinivax, Ikena’s $120m series B round and an $88m series A round for Aro.

Freeline Therapeutics, I-Mab Biopharma, Kaleido Biosciences and Precision BioSciences raised more than $100m each, but Chinese start-ups continue to bring in some of this year's largest venture capital mega rounds, with $220m in Series C cash to fund development of immuno-oncology and inflammatory disease drug candidates.

Private Company Edition: The Dementia Discovery Fund started in 2015 with plans to raise $200m to fund early-stage development of disease-modifying drugs, but recently closed its fundraising with $350m in commitments. Also, Kaleido's $101m Series C is among three recent $100m-plus rounds.