The outcome of any clinical study is uncertain but the choice of active comparator and sometimes even the placebo arm can magnify unpredictability. Emgality’s recent head-to-head failure in migraine is just the latest in a long list of casualties.

The company said it would discontinue the Phase III trial of the MRSA drug for futility, leaving it with no major catalysts and an uncertain cash position.

Public Company Edition: Instil Bio, Connect Biopharma, Finch Therapeutics, Gain Therapeutics and four heath care-focused SPACs launched initial public offerings; Endo raised $1.3bn via note sale; and Rubius Therapeutics, Solid Biosciences and others priced follow-on offerings.

Public Company Edition: After an initial hit to valuations from COVID-19, massive amounts of money have been raised by drug developers, such as argenx with a $862.5m stock sale. However, only two IPOs launched in the US in May, including ADC with a $267m offering.