1️⃣ Novo finally got a late-stage answer from Forma
Novo said on April 20 that etavopivat hit both co-primary endpoints in Phase 3 HIBISCUS, cutting vaso-occlusive crises 27% and lifting hemoglobin response to 48.7% versus 7.2% on placebo.
💡 Why it matters
The 2022 Forma buy now looks like a real rare-disease payoff. Clean phase 3 conversion still gets paid for when the unmet need is obvious and the filing path is close.
☕ Coffee talk
Does a 27% VOC cut make this the next standard add-on in SCD, or just the first asset big enough to reset pricing?
2️⃣ Biogen bought the last missing geography for felzartamab
Biogen agreed on April 20 to pay $100M upfront and up to $750M in milestones for TJ Bio’s Greater China rights to felzartamab, giving it global control of the Phase 3 CD38 program.
💡 Why it matters
This is less about geography than control. Biogen is deciding one late-stage immunology asset is broad enough to justify one owner, one development plan and one commercial hand.
☕ Coffee talk
If you still split rights by region this late, are you keeping flexibility or just taxing the asset?
3️⃣ Odyssey is back at the IPO window for immunology
Odyssey refiled on April 17 for a Nasdaq IPO after pulling last year’s deal, with about $175.7M in cash and a lead RIPK2 program already showing Phase 2a activity in ulcerative colitis.
💡 Why it matters
This is a cleaner market signal than another crossover round. Public investors are being asked to fund an autoimmune story with clinical shape, not a preclinical promise deck.
☕ Coffee talk
If Odyssey is back already, who decided the biotech window is open again?