New $150m Series C round brings Orchard's tally to nearly $300m, just four months after the start-up acquired a portfolio of gene therapy candidates from GSK and eight months after a $110m round. Gritstone closed a Series C then announced an IPO filing, plus more late-summer VC rounds.

The San Diego biotech hopes to develop antibody-drug conjugate therapies for cancer that will offer more specific targeting and more stable drug-to-antibody ratios, compared to ADCs now on the market. The acquisition is just the latest in a busy stretch of deal-making for Sorrento.

Derived from Strategic Transactions, Elsevier Business Intelligence’s premium source for tracking life sciences deal activity, the Dealmaking column is a survey of recent health care transactions listed by relevant industry segment – In Vitro Diagnostics, Medical Devices, and Pharmaceuticals – and then categorized by type –Acquisition, Alliance, or Financing.