Private Company Edition: Nine new venture capital mega-rounds include Insilico’s series C, $250m from Blackstone for a CAR-T therapy spinout from Intellia and a $210m series B round for Umoja.

Strong sales of Dupixent and its range of vaccines are expected to drive Sanofi’s financial results for the first quarter of 2021, although these are likely to have been adversely affected by currency exchange rate movements. Numerous data readouts are expected in the coming months from pipeline products.

In an interview, oncology development exec Peter Adamson reiterated the company’s view that THOR-707 is best-in-class, but more data are needed to see where its efficacy stands amid the IL-2 herd.

Sanofi R&D head John Reed says company has kept 95% of patients on its nearly 400 clinical trials and started 59 studies. Company has also stepped up collaborations and closed acquisitions, integrating employees remotely.