In the private market, eight Chinese biotechs raised a combined $116m in deals backed by venture capital and private equity firms over the past few weeks.

Evopoint and Kaken also ring in the new year with multiple deals. Biocytogen licenses antibodies against a specified target derived from its RenMice platform technology to Hansoh Pharma.

The growing aging population and rising obesity rates are paving the way for patch-based drug delivery systems to treat such common age-related diseases as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, hormonal deficiencies, heart disease, as well as for managing acute and chronic pain patients. According to a new report by Meddevicetracker, the global market for transdermal patch products will reach $8.1bn by 2021, a CAGR of 2.9% from 2016. In this feature, we'll take a closer look at the overall market and the key players in the individual segments in this overall market. We'll take a deep dive into the neurological disorders segment, which is expected to see the biggest growth in the overall segment. We'll also feature physician specialty surveys outlining the pros and cons of using patch-based systems.

A review of biopharma start-up dealmaking and financing from October through December 2016, based on data from Strategic Transactions.