More generic deals but also US approval hurdles for Merck's oral antiviral, while Japan approves more options and Valneva's vaccine candidate shows promise against Omicron. 

Public Company Edition: While panelists at Biotech Showcase argued merging with a special purpose acquisition corporation is not as attractive as it used to be, firms continue to pursue this go-public alternative. Also, Hillstream launched a small IPO and Cytokinetics accessed cash from Royalty Pharma. 

Daily notebook from the virtual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference: Updates from Galapagos, Ipsen, LG Chem and Hanmi; experts discuss deal and financial outlook at Biotech Showcase, plus the impact of RMAT and the changing landscape for rare diseases. 

Daily notebook from the virtual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference: Updates from Galapagos, Ipsen, LG Chem, Hanmi and Fosun; experts discuss deal and financial outlook at Biotech Showcase, plus the impact of RMAT and the changing landscape for rare diseases.