Private Company Edition: Publicly held Ascendis outsourced its preclinical AMD program to private Eyconis. Also, Innovation Endeavors revealed a new $630m VC fund and Mirae raised $50m for its first life science fund, while Accent, Comanche and Tr1X each brought in $75m rounds.

Biotech entrepreneurs tend to be an optimistic group, and there were many pockets of hope for 2024. However, the consensus remains that depressed valuations and paucity of fresh funds will continue to pose a challenge for the sector, and companies will need to prioritize carefully and work even harder to demonstrate and create value.

Private Company Edition: Revelation Partners amassed $608m, Bioluminescence Ventures emerged with $477m and Abingworth raised $356m for late-stage programs. In recent financings, MapLight closed a $225m series C round while Triveni launched with $92m and Gate garnered $60m in series A rounds.

Restructuring Edition: Biogen and Sana add to their layoff totals. Exscientia announced R&D program cuts while Syros, PTC, AM-Pharma, Societal CDMO, Nighthawk and Kinnate revealed layoffs to conserve cash. Also, Impel is exploring strategic options and Applied Molecular Transport will disappear in a merger with Cyclo.