Private Company Edition: The amount of venture capital investment in biopharma companies has shrunk from quarter to quarter, but the average deal size remained high until the third quarter. Larger rounds from Treeline, Odyssey and Neumora offset a plethora of smaller VC financings early in Q4. 

In this latest installment of VC playbook, In Vivo speaks to Naveed Siddiqi, senior partner at Novo Ventures. He discusses the group’s strategy, the European investment outlook for life sciences and how COVID-19 has permanently shifted perceptions of the biopharma industry.

Having acquired Jecure Therapeutics and its preclinical portfolio of NLRP3 inhibitors just under two years ago, the Swiss giant has swooped in to buy Dublin-based Inflazome and expand its presence in a hot field of inflammatory research.

Innovation has come of age in Asia, throwing up investment opportunities in China, Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries that Novo Holdings plans to tap into, says CEO Kasim Kutay. The firm's Asia head, Amit Kakar, also outlines therapeutic areas of interest for the company, which is managing $65bn worth of assets.