Private Company Edition: XtalPi raised $318.8m for its AI-based drug discovery platform and machine learning-enabled Flagship start-up Valo Health has brought in nearly $100m. XtalPi had one of three recent venture capital mega-rounds for China-based companies.

AbbVie has added Mission Therapeutics to its preclinical partnership roster with a neurology deal to develop DUB inhibitors in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. 

Heading into Phase III in 2019 is Lilly's dual agonist of GLP-1 and GIP, which has shown notable therapeutic effects on blood sugar and body weight in type 2 diabetics in a mid-stage clinical study. Meanwhile Lilly/Boehringer Ingelheim's SGLT2 inhibitor, empagliflozin, is being discussed with regulators with regard to its use in type 1 diabetics, an additional indication, following the release of full results from the EASE Phase III program.

BioNTech's $270m Series A round was the biggest start-up financing in January, but sizeable rounds also were raised by Centrexion ($67m), Eureka ($60m) and Pandion ($58m).