While reproductive medicine and maternal health remains the mainstay for the Swiss group, Ferring president Per Falk says the approvals of the microbiome treatment Rebyota and bladder cancer gene therapy Adstiladrin represent "important avenues for exploration and growth."

Public Company Edition: Summit initiated the big rights offering earlier this year as promised in December when it licensed Akeso’s PD-1/VEGF bispecific. Also, Teva sold $2.49bn in sustainability-linked notes to pay down debt, while MorphoSys, Novavax and others restructured and cut jobs.

The US firm has faced yet another clinical setback as its Phase II candidate, NYX-458, failed to improve cognitive impairment in patients with Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s, triggering the cessation of its only other program as priorities shift to preserving funds.

Aside from record earnings reported by a number of Korean pharma companies, the industry saw a diverse range of headlines in the fourth quarter, including cross-border acquisitions and business diversification.