AbbVie inks collaboration and option deal focused on targeted protein degradation with Plexium. Cend and Calabrius merge in an all-stock transaction.

Plagued by a scandal which gained global attention a few years go, the gene therapy sector has recovered and is now thriving in China. But a drive for innovation, combined with ready cash for aspiring start-ups, may not translate into leaps and bounds in the field due to challenges unique to these latest treatments, including manufacturing, durability and coverage.

The rate at which investigational drugs were accepted onto the European Medicines Agency’s priority medicines scheme dropped in 2021. Meanwhile, more much-needed treatments that had been developed under the scheme went on to win EU marketing approval.

Licensing deals and partnerships carried the day during another hectic J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. Pfizer racked up its third deal of the week in a cancer collaboration with Dren Bio.