Sienna Biopharmaceuticals went from Series A to IPO in 15 months, selling investors on its executive team experienced in the development and commercialization of dermatology and aesthetic products.

OncoMed lays off half its employees after a series of recent clinical setbacks. Meanwhile, six public companies raise $1.64bn in $100m-plus follow-on and debt offerings, SV Health Investors closed a $400m venture capital fund and eight therapeutics firms grabbed $247.5m in VC cash.

Derived from Strategic Transactions, Informa’s premium source for tracking life sciences deal activity, the Dealmaking column is a survey of recent health care transactions listed by relevant industry segment – In Vitro Diagnostics, Medical Devices, and Pharmaceuticals – and then categorized by type – Acquisition, Alliance, or Financing. This month’s column covers deals announced in December 2016.

Purdue will partner with Exicure to develop psoriasis therapies using the latter’s Spherical Nucleic Acid platform, while Sienna buys Creabilis to advance its psoriasis candidate to Phase III. Meanwhile, one focus of the Almirall/Nuevolution tie-up will be psoriatic arthritis.