Neuroscience and oncology fuel high hopes for therapeutic R&D progress among 90-plus surveyed biopharma industry leaders.

Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma and two other investors plan to spend $8.3 million to take shares of Create Vaccine, a Japan-based developer of tuberculosis vaccine injections, according to sources.

Once an unlikely scenario, corporate venture funds now are making up a larger and larger part of investment rounds for early-stage biotechs; these investments are buoyed by VCs launching their own firms. Plus news on recent financing activity from Avaxia Biologics, Clovis Oncology, Protagonist Therapeutics and Dermira.

Biopharma start-ups raised $693 million in Q4 2011, up 131% from Q3. Device companies brought in $111 million, and diagnostics firms raised $120 million total, $96 million of which was from Biocartis’ Series C. Cancer was the most prevalent therapeutic area for biopharma alliances. And in great contrast to Q3’s one M&A deal involving a start-up company, Q4 saw nine start-up acquisitions.