Both Atlas and Foresite Capital announced new funds focused on start-ups. Also, Flagship launched Vesalius with $75m in initial funding, Innoviva sold $225m in notes, Hookipa priced a $75m follow-on offering and job cuts were revealed by Epizyme, Flexion, Deciphera and Gemini. 

AbbVie pays $130m up front with up to $870m in earnout potential for UCB spinout focused on SV2A modulators. BioNTech gets rights to preclinical TCR candidates for solid tumors from Medigene.

Zentalis outlines promising antitumor activity associated with its WEE1 inhibitor, Phase II trials are planned for Pieris Pharmaceuticals’ fusion protein in HER2-positive cancers, while HPV-positive cancers are being targeted by Hookipa’s immunotherapeutics in arenavirus vectors, and Eli Lilly is planning early-stage clinical trials with its next-generation KRAS inhibitor.

Public Company Edition: Initial public offerings may take a holiday break, but 2020 already has been a remarkable year for IPOs in the US and China. Also, Arvinas led the latest follow-ons with a $400m offering followed by TG Therapeutics with a $275m stock sale.