The US FDA’s approval of Lumicell’s optical imaging agent Lumisight makes a dozen novel approvals in 2024 for the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Private Company Edition: Regeneron launched a $500m venture fund and Canaan added $100m, bringing the venture firm’s recent total to $1bn-plus. Also, incubators plan to grow over the next decade and in recent financings Avenzo raised $150m and Nvelop launched with $100m.

Collaboration Edition: Including deals involving Evotec/Variant, Sanofi/IGM/Nurix, ABVC/OncoX and Harmony/Bioprojet, along with tech transfer agreements and deals in brief.

The CEOs of bluebird bio and CRISPR Therapeutics hope to inspire investor confidence that their gene-based therapies for sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia will be widely reimbursed in the US and EU.