Major Japanese firm picks up US drug discovery platform company Jnana in apparent bid to strengthen discovery capabilities and build its mid-stage R&D presence in the renal area. 

Pipeline is concentrated around Phase II, but sponsors have a few chances to see how FDA handles its ‘foundational constructs’ for psychedelic drugs, led by Lykos’ pending NDA for PTSD and Compass Pathways’ Phase III synthetic psilocybin COMP360 for treatment-resistant depression.

Otsuka steps into the ocular gene therapy field through a technology licensing deal worth up to $1.5bn with ShapeTX, which in turn further expands the US firm's global reach following a $3bn collaboration with Roche. 

After a year of R&D collaboration, Otsuka has made a decision to acquire Canadian venture Mindset to further expand its neurological pipeline with new 5-HT2A agonists.