As the usual flurry of deals coincides with the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, AbbVie signed an mRNA pact with Anima and a cancer research tie-up with Immunome.

The average return for companies that went public in the US through the end of September was 49.4% as of 5 October. The fourth quarter started with three additional initial public offerings on 1 October.

Public Company Edition: Outside the US, Zai Lab raised more in its recent Hong Kong initial public offering – $766.4m – than PMV, Prelude, Taysha, Graybug and Greenwich combined. Also, Gilead priced debt to fund its $21bn Immunomedics buy and ADC Therapeutics raised $204m.

Public Company Edition: The former Allergan CEO is taking a special purpose acquisition corporation public to generate $460m for deals in familiar biopharma niches. Also, IPOs are expected to keep up a robust pace in the fall and Albireo raises $160m on the success of its drug for pediatric liver diseases.