Seeing strong sales with legacy Allergan’s Vraylar, AbbVie teams with Gedeon Richter on novel dopamine receptor modulators. AB Studio, CR Biopharma partner on COVID-19 neutralizing antibody.

Avenue Therapeutics seems unlikely to get advisory committee support for its opioid analgesic over the agency’s conclusion that the drug’s ‘minimal benefit’ is outweighed by a potential risk from its delayed onset of pain relief. FDA has issued two complete response letters and denied Avenue’s first request for a formal dispute resolution.

The performances of the leading medtechs in the first year of the COVID pandemic were impossible to compare and certainly unrepresentative of normal business cycles and competitive activity. Elective care was largely put on hold and emergency needs boosted exceptional demand for certain product types. More than anything else, 2020 tested management's planning skills.

Private Company Edition: Amylyx will use its new cash to run a Phase III trial and submit applications seeking EU and Canadian approvals of AMX0035, but US filing plans based on prior Phase II/III data are less clear. Also, three VC firms raised new funds targeting biopharma and other investments.