Public Company Edition: Verona Pharma arranged up to $400m in new debt and up to $250m in revenue-related financing ahead of its COPD drug launch. Also, Organon, Sobi and Pacira priced $1bn, $275.1m and $250m note sales, respectively. Marinus, Emergent and Ginkgo cut jobs.

Both Atlas and Foresite Capital announced new funds focused on start-ups. Also, Flagship launched Vesalius with $75m in initial funding, Innoviva sold $225m in notes, Hookipa priced a $75m follow-on offering and job cuts were revealed by Epizyme, Flexion, Deciphera and Gemini. 

Flexion’s Zilretta is forecast to have big market potential with the growth of osteoarthritis, and Pacira’s CEO suggested there were commercial synergies with its Iovera device.

The company said the study of JTA-004 failed to meet its primary and key secondary endpoints, though a post-hoc analysis indicated activity in a patient subset.