Sawai’s Upsher-Smith business in the US has announced a pair of deals that will see the firm expand an existing partnership with Appco for a “near-term generic product opportunity” as well as divesting two “dormant” ANDAs in favor of a focus on more immediate assets.

Good news in the biopharma industry and the US economy gave public drug developers the boost they needed to raise cash, including Karuna’s $750m offering. Private company financings slowed during the second week of August, but Prellis and Vector BioPharma raised venture capital.

The UK firm's ensifentrine has exceeded analyst expectations by cutting the rate of moderate to severe COPD exacerbations by 42% over 24 weeks.

During Q2, biopharma merger and acquisition value reached $25.4bn and drew in $27.3bn in potential deal value from alliances. Device company M&A values reached $2.7bn, while in vitro diagnostic firms and research tools players completed M&A activity that totaled $534.3m.