The $16.5bn deal, intended to increase Novo Nordisk’s production of semaglutide-containing products, led a $36bn-plus quarter for M&A transactions, according to Evaluate.

The French major is paying up to $2.2bn to get access to Inhibrx’s alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency candidate and to take a stake in the rest of the California-based biotech’s portfolio.

A mix of mega-rounds and smaller seed financings show investment happening at both ends of the venture capital spectrum. In public company financings, Gilead prices $2bn note offering, Biogen secures $1.5bn for Reata deal, Inhibrx completes a $200m PIPE and the IPO market shows new signs of life.

With its first US study for a base-edited CAR-T therapy now back on track, Beam Therapeutics is gearing up to begin studies of its first in vivo candidate, BEAM-302, next year in AAT.