Private Company Edition: Two companies raised multiple hundreds of millions of dollars each helping to keep the number of $100m-plus venture capital mega-rounds on the rise in May. Also, Ascend raised $132.5m to make gene and cell therapies, and Nido emerged with $109m for neurological diseases.

Pear Therapeutics filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April and sold its remaining assets in an auction for about $6m. The demise of one the pioneers in the prescription digital therapeutics industry highlights the challenges PDT developers face getting their products reimbursed.

Mid-sized M&A, collaborations, creative financing, and biotech consolidation will feature in 2023. IPOs and follow-ons play bit-parts.

As the usual flurry of deals coincides with the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, AbbVie signed an mRNA pact with Anima and a cancer research tie-up with Immunome.