Incyte will pay $750m to acquire privately held Escient and its first-in-class oral antagonists of Mas-related G protein-coupled receptors X2 and X4.

Pivotal data on the oral BTK inhibitor could enable Novartis to maintain its hold on the urticaria market.

Private Company Edition: In recent weeks, 19 companies disclosed venture capital funding of $20m or more, including FogPharma with a $178m series D round and Apogee’s $169m launch. Also, Avalon BioVentures spun out of Avalon Ventures with a $135m fund.

Private Company Edition: Neogene, Escient, ESCAPE, Resolution and Attralus raised a combined $320m in venture capital rounds. Also, large Recursion round could double the size of its pipeline, Korro Bio raised $91.5m and Flagship launched Generate Biomedicines.