Shionogi licenses US commercial rights for OIC drug to BioDelivery and rights in three EU markets to Sandoz. Tessa will test its T-cell therapy with Merck’s Keytruda in cervical cancer.

Nippon Shinyaku obtains rights to sell Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome drug Fintepla in its home market. Sun Pharma increases its ownership stake in Russia’s PJSC Biosintez.

Daiichi Sankyo pays $150m upfront to commercialize Esperion's cholesterol drug and combination in Europe, while Gilead enters major deal worth up to $785m with Korea's Yuhan to bolster its NASH portfolio. Samsung taps 3SBio to build its biosimilars business in China. 

The company isn't relaying any details about its drug targets, but will use the mega-round to take its first candidates into the clinic. Also, RiverVest raises a $184.4m VC fund, Annexon closes a $75m Series C, Takeda lists its stock in the US, and Aptorum goes public.