Developers of antibodies, novel vaccines and cell and gene therapies are all slated to get funding support as Shanghai unleashes a flurry of incentives and policies to lead China’s push to become a global biopharma powerhouse.

Originated by a Suzhou-based biotech founded two years ago and now being jointly developed with WalVax, China’s first homegrown mRNA COVID-19 vaccine is now entering the final stages of development.

EcoR1 and Casdin/Corvex took their second and third special purpose acquisition corporations public. Also, Ionis sold notes to buy back older notes and fund operations as it cut 70% of Akcea’s staff. In venture capital, ValenzaBio raised $70m and RA boosted Metagenomi’s series A to $75m.

The big winners of the night were AstraZeneca and Roche as pharma, biotech and allied industries came together online on 2 December to celebrate during a ceremony hosted by Ed Balls.