When the traditional fundraising window closes and clinical, regulatory or commercial success eludes, other routes to raise cash emerge. But these have also become more scarce recently, leaving all-stock consolidations.

Moderna and Life Edit will team up to develop transformative or curative therapies for challenging genetic diseases. Erytech and Pherecydes unveil plan to merge and extend runway into 2024.

BioNTech's $270m Series A round was the biggest start-up financing in January, but sizeable rounds also were raised by Centrexion ($67m), Eureka ($60m) and Pandion ($58m).

Pandion, led by former Pfizer SVP Anthony Coyle, launched in 2017 to exploit immuno-oncology advances for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases; the firm's Series A follows a record-breaking year for biopharma venture capital. In public company financings, AveXis and others seek cash to fuel R&D.