Public Company Edition: Direct Biologics, YishengBio and Estrella Biopharma will go public by merging with special purpose acquisition corporations. Also, Vir lands a government contract worth up to $1bn, Idorsia raises CHF164m ($167.4m) in a real estate deal and Adamis reviews alternatives.

Torrent’s $245m acquisition of Curatio Healthcare has moved it up a rank to No.7 in the overall Indian pharmaceutical market apart from making it the market leader in cosmetic dermatology. While it’s a pricey deal, factors like growing prevalence of skin diseases and shift towards e-commerce bode well for future revenue growth in a nascent market

GSK discontinues Cervarix in India as part of portfolio rationalization efforts against the backdrop of the arrival of Serum’s 'affordable' quadrivalent HPV vaccine. The heat is also believed to be on the UK drugmaker’s pneumococcal vaccine Synflorix in the country.

With the world’s first exclusively intranasal COVID-19 vaccine against COVID-19 getting restricted use approval in India, Bharat Biotech/Washington University St. Louis offer an easy-to-use immunization option. But is it too little too late?