Public Company Edition: The new year started with two companies signaling plans for significant near-term initial public offerings, following Inhibikase’s launch as the last IPO of 2020. Other recent financial highlights include layoffs at Calithera and Regenxbio’s $200m Zolgensma royalty sale.

While COVID-19 shocked global financial markets and is expected to impact biopharma fundraising, investment in drug developers continues, including through two new venture capital funds totaling nearly $2bn. Also, Coherus issues debt to fund deals and MOMA launches with $86m in VC cash.

Public Company Edition: Of five drug developers expected to go public, four have preclinical or early clinical candidates, while the one that could not find a market for its IPO is in Phase III. Also, Biohaven, Zymeworks and Kura raise $100m or more in follow-on offerings.

The US biotech’s product becomes the first glutaminase inhibitor to show proof of concept. Calithera now awaits data from a larger registrational study next year in renal cell carcinoma.