Private Company Edition: venBio’s new fund plus Ysios Capital’s recent €216m ($260m) fund adds up to $810m in fresh venture capital for life science companies. Also, Nikang and Esco attracted $200m each in VC investment, Pulmocide closed a $92m series C round and Stablix launched with $63m. 

A recent event in South Korea heard one prominent investor advise South Korean pharma firms to sharply increase their new drug R&D and seek direct entry into global markets, rather than pursuing licensing deals for growth

The South Korean AI-driven drug discovery venture is vying with global rivals in the space to show concrete validation of its approaches in partnered projects, while eyeing international expansion and new fundraising, its CEO says.

Hanmi’s novel, long-acting neutropenia drug gets world-first approval in South Korea, setting it up to be the first product using the company's proprietary platform technology to be commercialized. An FDA manufacturing inspection also seems to bode well for the pending US approval.