Plus deals involving Fujimoto/Egetis, Chugai/Cheplapharm, Celest/Senti, Shionogi/Apnimed, Jiangsu Hengrui/Merck KGaA, Jiangsu Hengrui/Elevar, Sun/Zydus, C4U/Healiva, Shanghai Henlius/Intas, Ono/Turbine, EpimAB/Almirall and Alar/Indivior.

While the weaker yen boosted the top line for Japanese pharma companies with a strong global presence in the fiscal first half, it also raised reported costs. Several firms reported strong growth for mainstays, while holding out high hopes for selected new drugs with blockbuster potential. But some other products underperformed for unexpected reasons.

Dunn is retiring after an 18-year career that included involvement in some high-profile and controversial drug approval decisions, not the least of which is Biogen’s Alzheimer’s treatment Aduhelm; deputy director Teresa Buracchio takes over the neurology office on an acting basis.

Private Company Edition: While Coya Therapeutics raised $15.25m in the final initial public offering in the US last year, Apnimed stayed private raising $80m in a series C extension and Metagenomi extended its series B by $100m to total $275m.