Deal Snapshot: The Dutch biotech planned to move its preclinical candidate, the EGFR-targeting LAVA-1223, into the clinic later this year. Seagen has shown interest in business development as Merck merger talks have quieted down.

India’s national list of essential medicines 2022 features 34 additions, including insulin glargine, teneligliptin, lenalidomide, bedaquiline and montelukast, with price control expected to follow on these drugs.

Oversee returnee-founded Chinese biotech start-ups Nuwacell and Arnatar secure $14m in series A and seed rounds respectively, while four other major deals backed by private equity and venture capital firms raise a combined $116m.

While the Phase IIb SOLANO trial of ION449 met its primary endpoint, AstraZeneca had set a high bar of 70% LDL cholesterol reduction for competitiveness that the study did not hit.