A financing round that was significantly oversubscribed by new and existing investors will help advance the Oxford-headquartered biotech's exosome therapeutics into the clinic and expand its technology platform.

The company sees aducanumab adding a modest boost to sales if approved, but there are another four Phase III programs with some major read-outs coming.

As a freshman interested in neurobiology at Joseph Fourier University in Grenoble, Virginie Buggia-Prevot knocked on the lab door of an esteemed neurosurgeon and professor conducting research on deep brain stimulation. She was hooked; following a PhD in neurobiology and a post doc at the University of Chicago, Buggia-Prevot joined MD Anderson’s Neurodegeneration Consortium, managing strategic alliances and working on drug discovery. In November, she joined Valo as director of neurology discovery, an opportunity to bring new research in neurodegeneration to bear on patients’ lives.

Rather than hitting the acquisition trail, Biogen has taken the licensing route to expand its psychiatric and neurological disorders pipeline.