Private Company Edition: Also, Medicxi’s new €200m fund will be reinvested in a portfolio of six life science companies and Silverback more than doubled its 2020 money with an $85m series C round.

Competing with several other firms to bring the first microbiome-derived therapy to market, Seres says the magnitude of its Phase III efficacy compared to placebo may enough for registrational filing.

Lupin links with Exeltis, Cresco and Macure to sell the NDM therapy in western and central Europe. Plus deals involving Cipla, GoApptiv, Takeda, Debiopharm, PharmaMar and TTY.

"There's a lot of hope and hype still in the microbiome sphere," Ferring's president Per Falk tells Scrip, but the rewards could be considerable for companies that can deliver well-documented safety and efficacy data and do not take try to take shortcuts.