Vancouver biotech is building a pipeline of candidates for rare, severe chronic kidney disease. It has an oral drug in Phase III and an antibody candidate in mid-stage development for IGA nephropathy.

Ascendis’s growth hormone deficiency drug Skytrofa will offer a convenience advantage as a weekly injectable. But the label does not clearly delineate superiority shown in a Phase III trial.

Private Company Edition: Last year set a high bar for venture capital, but this year is starting strong. Recent VC mega-deals include $500m for EQRx and $230m-plus for Tessera Therapeutics. Also, BioGeneration Ventures closed a €140m ($170.2m) fund and NewAmsterdam raised a $196m series A.

Sanofi pushed ahead to advance its leadership in diabetes in a partnership with Hanmi; Pfizer bought Allergan in biopharma's biggest M&A to date, at $160bn. Boston Pharma's $600m financing contributed greatly to the early-stage venture category's 50% share of total financing.