The French major is planning a Phase II trial of KT-474 in atopic dermatitis and hidradenitis suppurativa after the asset fared well in a small Phase I trial, although some analysts remain skeptical.

Private Company Edition: Recent biopharma venture capital financings add up to $1.7bn, including a $135m crossover round for HilleVax after spinning out of Takeda in July to advance a norovirus vaccine, Skyhawk’s $133m in fresh funding and Obsidian’s $115m series B round.

Pfizer, Sanofi, Bristol Myers Squibb, Gilead’s Kite, Lilly’s Dermira, Janssen and Biogen among the major companies announcing transactions this week.

The conventional wisdom in the medtech industry is to pursue the “razor-razor blade” business model, as each placement of capital equipment generates a lucrative annuity of recurring revenues from disposables. The corollary to this conventional wisdom is that so-called “big iron” is to be avoided as, in sharp contrast, it suffers from greater early cash requirements and longer sales cycles that create difficulties forecasting quarterly revenues, and provides no annuities. But that view is no longer the only one that counts, Health Advances CEO Mark Speers argues.