Private Company Edition: Last year set a high bar for venture capital, but this year is starting strong. Recent VC mega-deals include $500m for EQRx and $230m-plus for Tessera Therapeutics. Also, BioGeneration Ventures closed a €140m ($170.2m) fund and NewAmsterdam raised a $196m series A.

Teva has launched its generic version of NuvaRing in the US, adding a second rival generic to the market that already includes Amneal, as well as an authorized generic version from Prasco.

Deals announced by Sanofi and Novartis at this year’s virtual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference and a smattering of full-year revenue preannouncements did not mark a bumper start to the year.