Private Company Edition: The astonishing pace of venture capital investment in drug development continues with another $1.5bn in financings of $100m or more, including $152m for Pyxis and $126m for Omega. New VC funds also continue to launch, including RiverVest’s fifth fund, totaling $275m.

The Bayh-Dole act of 1980 facilitated deal-making between private-sector firms and research institutions, largely seeding the US biotech industry. Plus, an overview of the latest tech transfer deals.

The series A fundraising will help Locana bring CRISPR gene editing to diseases with dysfunctional RNA. Artizan and OncoMyx are among the other firms with recent series A rounds.

The VC firm known for its new company formation efforts will launch 10-12 biopharma, device and diagnostic ventures with its fifth fund. Also, EpimAb raises a $74m series B round, three more drug developers join the IPO queue and Amicus leads recent follow-on offerings.