Appili brings in AiPharma to help with US/Canadian development of Fujifilm’s potential COVID-19 preventative/therapeutic. Other recent tie-ups include CinFina/Janssen, Bone/Impant, Bayer/Gubra, Novartis/Theragnostics, Grifols/Biotest and more.

Private investors, including Japanese e-commerce mogul Hiroshi Mikitani, backed a $150m Series C round for Rakuten Aspyrian and its photoimmunotherapy platform. Also, pharma-backed therapeutic video game developer Akili boosts Series C to $68m, and Summit garners additional BARDA funding.

With backing from Bayer and others, the US-based venture will develop iPSC therapies for cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases; other notable new financings involve Cerevance, Goldfinch Bio, NeuroPharma and Tenaya. Derived from Strategic Transactions, Informa’s premium source for tracking life sciences deal activity, the Venture Funding Deals column provides a comprehensive monthly review of emerging biopharmaceutical companies that have received venture funding. This month’s column covers deals announced November through December 2016.