Private Company Edition: The global accelerator has new commitments from HHS and the Wellcome Trust. Also, Apollo buys into Sofinnova Partners with an up to €1bn investment, Castle Creek raised $124.6m in private funding this year in lieu of an IPO and Remix closed a $70m series B round. 

2021 was an unusual but exciting year for dealmaking in the biopharma industry. How will 2022 compare?

Both Atlas and Foresite Capital announced new funds focused on start-ups. Also, Flagship launched Vesalius with $75m in initial funding, Innoviva sold $225m in notes, Hookipa priced a $75m follow-on offering and job cuts were revealed by Epizyme, Flexion, Deciphera and Gemini. 

The potential for RNA medicines to achieve holy grail goals – reaching undruggable targets and bringing drugs to market faster – has Pfizer, Lilly, Novartis and others in a deal-making frame of mind.