Verona Pharma’s Phase III ensifentrine, if approved, would be the first new dual-mechanism treatment class for COPD patients in decades. It could propel the UK-based biotech toward profitability, or into the arms of a larger partner.

Pharma will partner with SyntheX on targeted protein degradation, with Autolus on cell therapy safety. Novo Nordisk gets rights to Ventus’s lead compound in NASH and chronic kidney disease.

When a small biotech company acquires a failed drug from big pharma and plans to repeat the clinical studies expecting a positive result, is that not a definition of insanity?

A NASDAQ listing has been the pinnacle for non-US biotech companies because it brings access to more specialist investors and a larger capital base. But the appetite for – and aftermarket performance of – this biotech tourism is cycle-dependent.