France has long been a European leader in rare diseases, from its scientific research and academic hospitals, through to patient advocacy and regulatory reforms that have encouraged R&D. Its biotech and pharmaceutical industries are now leading the way, discovering the next generation of therapies for patients that are often overlooked.

A topsy-turvy legal battle going back some years led to a raft of Tecfidera generics being pulled from the market in December last year. Now, three of the affected companies are a step closer to reentering the market, which is set to remain a Tecfidera monopoly until February 2025.

Public Company Edition: Pfizer’s stake in Haleon dropped from 32% to 22.6% with a massive sale of shares of the GSK consumer health spinout. Also, Galderma prices its Swiss IPO, Madrigal grosses $600m in a post-approval offering and bluebird secured up to $175m in debt.

Emblaveo, for fighting infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria, is among the latest batch of medicines that the European Medicines Agency says should be approved for use in the EU.