Mersana signs its third ADC partnership with big pharmas for the year with Merck agreement. Lilly expands its RNA editing partnership with ProQR, which now has the potential to earn an additional $2.5bn. Novartis continues its divestment efforts in deals with Harrow, Erasca.

The Danish diabetes titan teams with Moderna’s founder on cardiometabolic R&D. Troubled cell therapy biotech Bone Therapeutics negotiates reverse merger with Medsenic.

Both Atlas and Foresite Capital announced new funds focused on start-ups. Also, Flagship launched Vesalius with $75m in initial funding, Innoviva sold $225m in notes, Hookipa priced a $75m follow-on offering and job cuts were revealed by Epizyme, Flexion, Deciphera and Gemini. 

Private Company Edition: The pre-J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference financing news deluge during the first week of 2021 included several significant venture capital deals, including a $226m series B round for Affinivax, Ikena’s $120m series B round and an $88m series A round for Aro.