The annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference includes presentations from major medtech companies; Some use the conference as a platform for major announcements while some just take the opportunity to explain their 2023 outlook to investors. Here are some of the highlights from the presentations on the second day of the meeting.

Failure of pherine nasal spray candidate in first of two Phase III trials for social anxiety disorder puts program in doubt, while the California biotech’s share price craters.

Merck & Co's proposed acquisition of Acceleron and a couple of big purchases from Sanofi drove up the value of the sector's M&A activities, according to the latest report from Biomedtracker

Private Company Edition: The astonishing pace of venture capital investment in drug development continues with another $1.5bn in financings of $100m or more, including $152m for Pyxis and $126m for Omega. New VC funds also continue to launch, including RiverVest’s fifth fund, totaling $275m.