After a brief lull in US initial public offerings, PainReform and three special purpose acquisition companies kicked off September’s IPOs. Also, Immunovant offering grossed $173.9m, Carlyle Group bought 5% stake in China’s Salubris and Erasca increased its series B to $236m. 

Merck China former R&D head returns after a short stint with startup Ascletis, and Takeda has a new center director for commercial health. Top executives change also take place at Ono in Korea and Simcere Pharma.

The two firms hope improvement in the six-minute walk test might be accepted by the US FDA as registrational endpoint for reldesemtiv in spinal muscular atrophy. Blackstone acquires Clarus, while Merck licenses TriNKETs from Dragonfly.

The Canadian specialty pharma has exceeded its near-term debt-reduction goals, but are its plans for a return to growth grounded in reality? Market analysts recommend caution, but see some reason for optimism.