Private Company Edition: Last year set a high bar for venture capital, but this year is starting strong. Recent VC mega-deals include $500m for EQRx and $230m-plus for Tessera Therapeutics. Also, BioGeneration Ventures closed a €140m ($170.2m) fund and NewAmsterdam raised a $196m series A.

Medical device companies – including Sientra, Endologix and Invacare – won loans from the US government’s Paycheck Protection Program, intended to protect jobs during the coronavirus pandemic. In total, nearly 1,400 device makers collected as much as $1.6bn, according to a Medtech Insight analysis of PPP data.

A letter from the US agency clarifies the risks of over-inflation, acute pancreatitis and death in patients who have been treated with liquid-filled intragastric balloons.

Apollo Endosurgery sold its surgical product line, including the Lap-Band adjustable gastric banding system and other accessories for laparoscopic bariatric surgery, to ReShape Lifesciences for $17m plus other considerations, including the ReShape endoscopic balloon, the companies announced Dec. 18. The deal will allow Apollo to focus on endo-bariatric procedures while it gives ReShape an instant revenue stream and another product to sell to surgeons, its core customers.