Sanofi is taking full control of the recently approved type 1 diabetes prevention therapy Tzield by splashing out $2.9bn to acquire partner Provention.

The French drugmaker has begun an external and internal search to succeed John Reed who is heading for Johnson & Johnson after an up-and-down five years as Sanofi’s R&D chief.

Private Company Edition: In recent weeks, 19 companies disclosed venture capital funding of $20m or more, including FogPharma with a $178m series D round and Apogee’s $169m launch. Also, Avalon BioVentures spun out of Avalon Ventures with a $135m fund.

After a year of strong commercial performance for Lybalvi and with IL-2 drug nemvaleukin in registration-enabling studies, Alkermes is ready to separate its neuroscience and oncology businesses.