VC deals totaled $8.3bn in the first half of 2019, but the year's total rose to just $11.5bn at the end of September, reflecting only a $3.2bn third quarter gain. Among recent financings, Cygnal emerged from stealth mode with $65m invested to date.

More than 70% of the bacteria that cause hospital-acquired infections are resistant to at least one of the broad-spectrum antibiotics most commonly used to treat them. By targeting peptides at a single vital intracellular structure found in all microbes, Chaperone Technologies hopes to solve the drug resistance problem for good.