Biopharma companies raised $12.4bn in Q2, largely from follow-on public offerings. In the latest mega-merger of the year, AbbVie spent $63bn on Allergan and its established portfolio. Many of the higher-valued alliances focused on the area of protein degradation.

A review of second quarter biopharma start-up deal-making and financing activity from Strategic Transactions showed a quarter-over-quarter drop in dollars raised despite multiple mega-rounds, including $100m-plus VC deals for SpringWorks and Fusion.

Public Company Edition: Turning Point's offering priced at $18 and its stock closed at $28.90. Also, Achaogen's bankruptcy reflects difficult antibacterial market, Ophthotech's name change follows strategy shift, and Gilead lays off 150 sales reps. Plus, cell and gene therapy FOPOs flourish.

There have been eight US biopharma IPOs in 2019, but only three are trading above their launch price – a big change from just three days ago.