April had four VC rounds of $100m or more, including Allogene's $300m to develop CAR-T therapies licensed from Pfizer. Innovent Biologics raised $150m, BenevolentAI brought in $115m and Constellation garnered $100m last month.

Pharma and biotech companies raised $4.6bn in the first quarter, exceeding the 2017 quarterly average by $1.4bn. But while the money invested soared, the number of companies funded sank. In public financings, MorphoSys commences US IPO and Mylan sells $1.5bn in notes.

This week's appointment roundup includes senior appointments by Promethera, HealthTell, Alzheon and Gilead Nordic with Baxter International, Therachon and Arena Pharmaceuticals making board appointments.

Derived from Strategic Transactions, Informa’s premium source for tracking life sciences deal activity, the Venture Funding Deals column provides a monthly review of emerging In Vitro Diagnostic, Medical Device, and Pharmaceutical companies that have received venture funding. This month’s column covers deals announced February through March 2016.