Private Company Edition: Flare Therapeutics, targeting transcription factors to discover precision medicines, had big pharma backing for its second venture capital financing. Also, Mediar closed a $10m series A round, Switch launched with $52m and EpiBiologics raised a $50m series A round.

Having reached proof-of-concept for its first-in-class SK ion channel inhibitor for atrial fibrillation, the Danish firm is on the hunt for a licensee as it moves its attention to its preclinical program for sinus rhythm maintenance.

The recent partnerships on Claudin 18.2-targeting agents between Chinese biotechs and big pharma have brought China innovation to a new phase that Chinese firms can be proud of, an executive from Keymed Biosciences, one of the Chinese biotechs involved in such deals, tells Scrip in an interview.

Last December, China's Akeso struck a major agreement worth up to $5bn with Summit Therapeutics, which set a new record in terms of total deal value for a single asset in the Chinese biopharma sector. Akeso founder and CEO Michelle Xia is now planning to pursue a more independent path in taking the firm global.