AnGes has terminated R&D work on a DNA vaccine for COVID-19 and will now look at intranasal candidates with a US partner. Although the original project received funding from the Japanese government, a spike in related costs caused the Japanese firm's net loss to triple last year, and the decision represents the latest in a string of pipeline setbacks.

Despite broad interest, real-world evidence of efficacy in FDA decisions remains largely limited to orphan diseases and natural history, a Pink Sheet analysis shows.

Public Company Edition: The stock market has been unkind to biotech firms but investors rewarded some drug developers for clinical trial successes, including Scholar Rock and Day One, which raised $205m and $172.5m, respectively. However, some SPAC deals and an IPO never got off the ground.

The little-known company could be set for a transformational year, with a Phase III readout in hepatitis D and a filing for a promising COVID-19 candidate.