Public Company Edition: Several special purpose acquisition corporations have emerged, including various health care- and life science-focused SPACs. Also, Alvotech entered into a $965m refinancing agreement and Avidity grossed $461m in a follow-on offering, among other updates.

The Mereo-partnered drug is in pivotal development for osteogenesis imperfecta. Ultragenyx also recently reported positive Phase III data for a rare disease gene therapy.

Development has ended for BIIB105 in ALS after it failed to clear a crucial biomarker and show clinical benefit. Also, Biogen opted not to advance ION582 for Angelman syndrome, so Ionis will go it alone.

Supporting ‘n of 1’ gene therapy development, the playbook from a Foundation for the National Institutes of Health-backed consortium aims to help investigators who are not traditional product sponsors prepare for meetings with US FDA and IND submissions.