Public Company Edition: Prometheus brought in $500m from a follow-on offering after reporting positive mid-stage results for its TL1A inhibitor. Even Novavax, struggling to make money from its COVID-19 vaccine, raised cash in dual offerings, but its valuation dropped significantly afterward.

VC funding slowed recently, but public company financings kept up a brisk pace with follow-on public offerings for Allakos and Alpine, private placements for Ventyx and Syros, and Albireo’s royalty deal. In restructuring updates, Biogen raised $592m in a real estate deal and Acerus is assessing options.

Early conversations on clinical trial endpoints were particularly helpful in developing Comirnaty, a Pfizer executive said. Whether sponsors can continue to get such discussions may go a long way in determining whether a new generation of products is developed.

Public Company Edition: Mergers with special purpose acquisition corporations also continue to take companies public, with three new SPAC offerings in late 2021. Also, Xeris raised $30m in a private placement of stock to support its recently approved drug and Sirnaomics went public in Hong Kong.