This week's roundup includes Almirall's appointment of a former Sanofi employee as CEO and various other high-level appointments by Axial, Therachon, Theranexus and Karolinska.

Quartet Medicine Inc.'s pipeline of novel small-molecule drugs to address chronic pain and inflammation target the tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) synthesis pathway, a target with genetic and pharmacological links to regulating human disease at the intersection of the peripheral nervous system and the immune system. The start-up thinks its approach has the potential to provide improved efficacy without the side effects associated with existing centrally acting analgesics.

George Scangos talks about the tradeoffs that drug pricing requires, and the logistical challenges that a blockbuster Alzheimer's product would create.

Astellas will pay Chromocell $15m up front and could spend more than $500m on milestone fees under a license and collaboration agreement for Nav1.7 antagonists, including lead drug candidate CC8464 and backup compounds, for the treatment of neuropathic pain and other conditions.